Return of the Fallen
by Dreadman75
Summary: A mysterious force, long since vanished from the face of the galaxy, is mistakenly unearthed by Cerberus. Will this action be the salvation of humanity, or it's doom?
1. Chapter 1

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. This is the first chapter of Return of the Fallen.

Summary: A force long since vanished from the face of the galaxy has been unearthed by Cerberus. Will this event save humanity, or damn it to extinction.

The Naruto portion of this fic is AU. So I don't want any complaining about how I'm not following the manga.

Not much else to say here so read and enjoy! Oh, and I don't own Mass Effect nor do I own Naruto.

**Ch.1 Discovery**

**1700 Hours**

**January 25, 2185 (Earth Calendar)**

**Skia Polemistis System (Unexplored)**

**-Normandy SR-2 CIC-**

Commander Issac Shepard stared at the galactic map display with concern. Their current flightpath had them traveling to a system perilously close to the Perseus Veil, right on the fringes of Terminus space. Looking at their destination planet he saw that it was sickly gray in color, a clear indicator that there would be no life to greet them there.

Anyone with an ounce of spaceflight common sense knew that you approach the Perseus Veil at your own risk, the reason being that any systems beyond the veil belonged exclusively to the Geth and any ships caught on the wrong side of the veil were sent back with their entire crews turned into Husks.

The commander was interrupted from his thoughts when the voice of the Normandy's pilot, Jeff "Joker" Moreau, came over the comm system. "Attention all crew members, we have arrived in the Skia Polemistis system and are 1 hour away from our target. Our proximity to Geth space has us at yellow alert for the duration of the mission. All crew members standby."

Shepard looked around the CIC at all of the crew members manning their posts, all of them keeping a constant eye out for anything that could compromise their mission, various firearms dangling from holsters on every crew member. Though the Normandy SR-2 had stealth systems that made it virtually undetectable, the crew wasn't about to be caught off guard in a place like this. Shepard nodded to no one in-particular before turning around and proceeding to the elevator and, from there, to his quarters to prep himself for the mission.

-Captain's quarters—-

While Shepard was putting on his N7 armor he thought back to what brought him and his crew so far out into Terminus space...

A race of beings known as the Collectors were somehow kidnapping the entire populations of human colonies all across Terminus space, and thus far the Citadel council had done nothing to find an explanation citing that the colonies in question were 'outside their jurisdiction.'

This is where Issac Shepard came into the picture. Two years ago a Collector ship destroyed the previous Normandy and left him a corpse floating in space. A human splinter group known as Cerberus found his body and spent billions of credits in order to bring him back. After an eventful reuniting with the land of the living he met with the leader of Cerberus a man who, ironically, called himself the Illusive Man. The Illusive Man set Issac on the trail of the Collectors and sent two of his best operatives to help him: Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson, a former Alliance soldier and a high ranking Cerberus operative respectively.

After investigating Freedom's Progress, the latest colony hit by the mysterious Collectors, and reporting back to the Illusive Man, Issac was told that he had to assemble a team to fight the Collectors. The Illusive Man forwarded him several information dossiers on individuals who fit the necessary criteria. This team was to be made up of a variety of operatives of varying specializations, each of them the best in their respective fields.

So far the roster was as follows:

The first member recruited was a Salarian doctor by the name of Mordin Solus. One of the greatest minds in the Galaxy, and former member of the Salarian Special Tasks Group. Once he was recruited he immediately set to work trying to figure out ways to counteract the Collectors advanced bio-technology.

After him came the elusive vigilante known as the Archangel, later revealed to be Shepard's former teammate, and best friend Garrus Vakarian. A Turian soldier and former C-sec officer, Garrus had extensive training as both a frontline soldier and a sniper making him an all around very dangerous individual.

From there Issac went after a person who could very well be the most powerful human biotic ever, Subject Zero, a.k.a. Jack. Held on a prison ship awaiting release into Cerberus's custody for Shepard's mission.

Shepard's train of thought shifted, he thought back to the meeting with the Illusive Man that put the Normandy out here so close to the Perseus Veil. It was a meeting that he'd had a hard time getting off his mind, and for good reason too...

_-flashback: 3 days ago-_

_It had been about two weeks since Issac Shepard returned to active duty in service to the radical pro-human group Cerberus and so far things were looking grim._

_The Collector homeworld lay on the other side of the unmapped Omega 4 mass relay. Any non-Collector ships that tried to go through it never returned. Despite the best efforts of Cerberus's numerous science teams, no headway had been made in finding a way to get the Normandy through the relay safely._

_The Collectors themselves were nearly impossible to track down. Their advanced bio-technology allowing them to arrive at a human colony, knock out it's communications, abduct all of the colonists, and retreat back through the relay before anyone was able arrive to stop them._

_At the moment the Normandy's crew found themselves getting anxious. Cerberus command was still gathering information about potential team members and the Collectors hadn't made an appearance since they abducted the entire colony of Freedom's Progress almost 3 weeks ago._

_At this point nerves were at an all time high, all of the crew members were expecting something bad to happen any day now. Each crew member with family on a Terminus colony was afraid that one of their families could be on the next colony to be attacked and were trying to warn them in time to move to the core systems._

_The anxiety of the crew nearly exploded when the Illusive Man himself suddenly requested to speak with Shepard. Immediately the thoughts on everyone's minds were that the Collectors had made another appearance and some might not hear from their families again. Shepard steeled himself for apparent bad news and made his way to the briefing room._

_Shepard stood perfectly still as the scanner identified him before projecting his hologram directly into the Illusive Man's office. The man himself was currently sitting in his chair staring at the superimposed star that served as the rooms only form of illumination. The Illusive Man turned his chair around to face the commander; as he was every time he was contacted he was currently smoking a cigarette. The Illusive Man fit the image of an amoral billionaire to a tee. He had the expensive suit, his silvery, almost white, hair was close cropped and always in place. What stood out most about him however were his eyes, pitch black against the star in the background with a glowing blue design that overlapped his irises. The way he spoke had a way of making you distrustful of him, his tone always had a slight condescending edge to it, and his demeanor always suggested that he knew more than he let on. Shepard didn't trust the Illusive Man, and he made sure that the Illusive Man knew it, but so long as the Illusive Man had the information and resources that he needed he was forced to work under him._

"_Shepard..." he greeted tapping his cigarette over an ashtray on the chair's armrest. "Are you aware of the meaning behind the term 'independent invention'?"_

_Shepard raised an eyebrow, usually this man was straightforward and never beat around the bush. "I can't say that I am."_

_The Illusive Man explained. "The term 'independent invention' is used to describe two cultures that have never interacted with one another in any way somehow coming up with nearly the exact same idea."_

_Shepard nodded his head in understanding. His eyes however, narrowed; what was he getting at?_

_The Illusive Man continued "One of the most prominent examples of independent invention occurs when we look at the ancient civilizations of Egypt and South America." He made a hand gesture and a variety of pictures of ancient pyramids from both cultures appeared in front of him. "Both civilizations constructed pyramids of differing designs as a sign of devotion to their gods. These two civilizations never came into contact, or had any knowledge of each others existence and yet they both managed to come up with the exact same idea."_

"_Fascinating..." Shepard replied, not really interested. "What does this have to do with the Collectors though?"_

"_Nothing," was his answer._

"_...I'm sorry?" Shepard said with a small amount of ire. If this meeting had nothing to do with his and __the Normandy's mission, why was he here in the first place?_

"_The Collectors have, thus far, been completely silent. We're keeping a close eye out for any signs of activity from them but so far they haven't done anything obvious. It's because of this brief respite that I have called you here today. One of Cerberus's other cells has discovered something monumental; this same cell recently contacted Cerberus high command with an urgent request for a squad of highly trained soldiers, so I want you and your team to head to their location to back them up.," The Illusive Man __told him._

"_Back up? Don't you have normal Cerberus personnel for that kind of job? Why do you need me and my team when we have our own mission!" Shepard was irked at this point and his tone showed it._

_The Illusive Man took another drag on his cigarette, not phased in the slightest by the commander's rising anger. "Normal Cerberus personnel are insufficient for a mission such as this. This particular Cerberus cell is located in the Skia Polemistis system, which in turn is located dangerously close to the Perseus Veil."_

_Shepard's eyes widened, and his anger disappeared. That explained the need for his team. Having a research team be located close to Geth controlled space was a dangerous gambit. Whatever this cell was looking into it had to be big to risk Geth attacks. He decided to cut to the heart of the matter. "What exactly is this cell supposed to be researching?"_

_The Illusive Man smirked. "Independent evolution." he answered._

_Shepard tilted his head in confusion. "Independent...evolution?"_

_The Illusive Man nodded. "If independent invention is the creation of one idea by two separate cultures that have never interacted; then independent evolution is having the same species evolve in two different places without having interacted. In this case the research cell has discovered the ruins of a now extinct civilization on one of the planets of the Skia Polemistis system."_

_Shepard nodded his head. "I'm no scientist but I do know that the odds of such a phenomenon occurring are astronomical at best. How do you know that your research cell didn't just find the remains of a species that wound up there by accident and managed to adapt?"_

_The Illusive Man's smirk grew wider. "Because Shepard, the race that this cell has discovered...is human."_

_If Shepard's eyes could have gone any wider his eyeballs probably would have fallen out at that last statement. "...H-how is that possible!" was all he managed to say._

_The Illusive Man took one last drag on his cigarette before snuffing it in the ash tray. He exhaled sounding disappointed "The cells top scientists are still unsure as to how a separate branch of humanity came to be on this planet. We probably won't ever know, a fact that disappoints me greatly. However, the cell's top scientist reassures me that there are still relics from this civilization that could not only give us clues as to who they were but may help advance us, their brothers, further in this galaxy."_

_Shepard held back a grimace, Cerberus discovers another branch of humanity and instead learning more about them as a whole he's just interested in using what they knew to advance him and his. "What other information can you give me on the planet we'll be going to and on this race of humans as a whole?"_

"_The planet itself is dead. We hypothesize that a mass extinction event occurred sometime in the past eight hundred to a thousand years and it left the world with little atmosphere to speak of, so you and your team will need environment suits. As for the humans that lived there, as near as the cell can __figure, the human civilization in question had most likely thrived long before the extinction event occurred. They apparently were able to build settlements capable of matching a medium sized town and had an architectural style strangely reminiscent of the buildings found in ancient Japan." The Illusive Man motioned with his hand again and some new pictures popped up showing exampled of the ruined buildings, all of them bearing a strong resemblance to ancient Japan just as he had indicated._

_Shepard nodded his head once more. "Now then, let's get down to what needs to be done. I've already sent EDI the coordinates for the Skia Polemistis system. Once you get there you will find the research cell's ship, the CSV Alexandria, in orbit around the planet. Talk to the team's head scientist, Professor Jonathan Crull, he'll fill you in on any other information you may need and will give you your mission specifics. Can I count on your team to do this Shepard?"_

"_My team is the best, you yourself saw to that. The six we have so far will be more than enough." Shepard responded, reminding the Illusive Man of his role in this._

"_Very well then. Good luck Shepard." _

_-flashback end-_

Shepard finished securing the last piece of his armor, and made his way to the elevator, his re-breather helmet attached to his belt. The elevator descended to the CIC and he began making his way to the port side airlock, his teammates already equipped and waiting for him as he got off the elevator.

"Commander." Saluted Jacob Taylor.

Shepard nodded at him and he dropped the salute, he then let his eyes drift from one teammate to another assessing how prepared they were:

Miranda Lawson was currently wearing her usual attire of a form fitting white bodysuit with black sleeves, the Cerberus emblem emblazoned right over her left breast, right over her heart. She currently wore a look of absolute seriousness, which belied her interest in learning about her race's newly discovered cousins.

The team's other two humans, Jacob Taylor and Jack, were of a similar mindset. Jacob was wearing a Cerberus bodysuit as well, with the same black and white color scheme with the Cerberus emblem in the same place. He, like Miranda, had a look that said he was all about business, but if you looked at him more closely then you could see a small spark of wonder in his eyes at the thought of seeing this new civilization.

Jack was currently dressed as one would guess a common biker thug to dress. Low slung jeans, a black leather vest, steel toe boots, and a reflective visor obstructing her eyes. Despite her potentially psychotic temperament and cold indifference, she too expressed curiosity and disbelief that other human races existed.

The teams two non-human members were completely astonished to learn what Shepard had told them, one much more so than the other.

Garrus Vakarian was suited up in the new, military-grade, blue lit armor that was provided in order to replace his damaged Archangel armor. When he first learned of this extinct human sub-culture, needless to say he was shocked, not that something like this could happen, but given the Turians encounters with humanity and humanity's penchant for adaptation, that this human sub-culture went extinct. He constantly maintained that since humanity tends to fight tooth and nail for what they want or believe in this race must have run up against something bad to have been wiped out completely.

Mordin Solus, dressed in his standard scientist attire, was the one who took the news with the least amount of surprise. Although he was still thoroughly shocked, he was more curious as to the evolution and potential variations in DNA in this group of humans from the ones originating in the Sol system. When he first heard the news he rationalized the discovery by saying that even though the odds of such a thing occurring were astronomical, it was not by any means impossible for two species to evolve so far away from each other.

Joker's voice came over the comm system. "We are beginning docking procedures with the CSV Alexandria, all Normandy personnel stand by for docking."

Shepard and his team made their way to the airlock doing their best to ignore the rumbling and shaking caused by the two ship's airlocks linking. As they were walking through the corridor between the ships they were able to get a good look at the Alexandria via the windows placed on the walls. It was about the size and shape of a standard Systems Alliance cruiser. An excellent choice for a mission such as this, it would have a crew size of about 50 minimum to 100 maximum. Half of the crew could be planetside and the other half would still be capable of mounting a defense if something unsavory came their way.

As they got to the end of the linking corridor, the door opened up to reveal a man in scientist garb with glasses and graying-brown hair. He had an annoyed look on his face, suggesting he didn't want to be there greeting Shepard and his team. "Greetings commander Shepard. I am Professor Jonathan Crull. I'm the scientist in charge of this research cell." He said in a neutral tone.

"It's a pleasure Professor. I was told that you requested my team as backup against Geth attacks. Let me introduce my team..." Shepard responded, and then proceeded to identify his team members for the man, absently noting how his face tensed when Garrus and Mordin were introduced.

"Yes, please follow me. We'll be heading to the med lab. What artifacts we found that were still in good condition are being stored there." With that Jonathan turned around and began walking down the hallway without so much as a look back, Shepard and his team following behind him.

As they were walking some of the team decided to speak up and ask some questions that had been eating at them ever since they were briefed on the mission details.

"What exactly have you found out about these humans and their culture Professor?" Miranda asked.

"We've discovered disappointingly little compared to what we hoped to have by now. We know that these people share much in common with people you would find on Earth's Japan. Their architectural style and what little we've found of their writing bears striking resemblances to the same styles found in ancient Japan. Even some skeletal remains found in various cave systems throughout the world have features reminiscent of the Japanese." The professor answered.

"Doesn't it strike you as odd that a race of humans can evolve here and somehow develop a Japanese culture?" Jacob spoke up, skepticism evident in his tone.

Professor Crull shook his head. "Our lines of thought followed almost that exact path. At first we thought that this place was an early human colony founded by people of Japanese descent. It wasn't until we brought up the first artifacts for carbon dating that we discovered that these remains had been down there for over eight hundred years, placing them here long before humanity had discovered electricity let alone space travel."

"Interesting explanation then. How these humans... (Inhale)...came to live here?" Mordin added.

Jonathan grimaced at Mordin's speech pattern, but nonetheless answered his inquiry. "At this point in time we only have theories as to how humans came to live on this planet. Theories ranging from dimensional rifts to alien abductions, but that's all we have...theories." He answered solemnly.

"What about anatomy of new humans? Any dissimilarities to note?" Mordin continued.

"It'll be easier for me to answer that when we get to the med-bay. But suffice it to say, there are some significant differences we've discovered between us and these humans. But, that wasn't even the biggest discovery we made." The professor had an almost excited tone as he said the last sentence.

"Then pray tell, what was the biggest discovery you and your team made?" Miranda pressed.

Jonathan smiled. "The biggest discovery, Ms. Lawson, lies deep within the planet's core. Perhaps this planet's biggest difference from our Earth is the presence of several heavy and radioactive metals not present in Earth's core. The whole planet is abounding with several unique types of radiation."

"Radiation? Could that be why this culture died? And furthermore, why would you send people down to the surface of this planet if the planet itself is radioactive?" Shepard exclaimed.

Their guide was quick to defuse the situation. "Calm down commander. The radiation permeating the planet is, for all intents and purposes, benign. I've had teams rotating on and off that planet for almost two weeks and not one person has suffered any ill side effects...at least not yet." He added as an afterthought.

Everyone was silent for a time as they continued making their way through the Alexandria. Eventually they came to an elevator. Stepping inside, the professor pressed the button for the crew quarters, mess hall, and medical station deck. The elevator started to descend.

"So tell me something Professor, how exactly did Cerberus discover this so-called 'lost human civilization?" Garrus asked. Despite his curiosity it was obvious that he didn't quite buy that a lost branch of the human race could just be found so far out of the way.

The professor frowned at the question. "Though the civilization that existed here is now extinct; Cerberus probes detected the energy resonances I told you about earlier. However, in addition to that they also detected a large energy source emanating from just below the planet's surface. My research cell was called in not long after and we promptly sent down a scouting team who discovered the first ruins." he replied succinctly.

"Energy Sources? Still active power generators?" Mordin asked.

The professor sighed and looked upwards in contemplation. "We aren't sure what the energy source is. What we do know is that it is located in a vast underground cave system located in a large mountain range in the north-eastern portion of the planet's main continent."

The elevator doors opened and everyone inside disembarked. A couple more minutes of walking found them at the medical station where they saw various items placed on the tables and shelves ranging from rusted and damaged metal weapons, like swords, knives and shuriken, to several decayed scrolls whose contents were nearly illegible thanks to their age and decay. It was like a museum exhibit on ancient culture. There was even an entire human skeleton on an examination table.

Professor Crull walked over to the skeleton. "One of our greatest finds-" he said with pride "-an entire skeleton featuring what several generations of exposure to their planets unique energy signature did for their evolution." He motioned Shepard's team to move in closer for a better look.

"One of the first things apparent about these humans is their unique bone structure. The bones themselves were about two to three times as dense as our own. This would have had the effect of increasing bone durability, lowering the chance of breaks; however this would increase their weight by the same factor. As if to offset this particular trait these bones are incredibly porous, this would take off enough mass to put the bones at about what our own would weigh without sacrificing durability. The porous nature of the bones would have also allowed for more efficient knitting when a break does occur." Crull pointed out excitedly.

"Incredible..." Jacob spoke up. "This would make them particularly effective in close quarters combat. They could take more punches before the bones would give in."

"Precisely." Crull nodded at Jacob, then looked at the skeleton and sighed. "If only we could find a single strand of their DNA. Apart from bone structure these humans are just like you or me, skeleton wise at least. As it stands we are unable to determine what other evolutionary traits these people might have that makes them different from us, skeletons can only show so much." He said.

After that the professor got quiet, most likely thinking of what he could find if he just had a single strand of these human's DNA. The silence was broken by the ships comm system buzzing to life, "Professor Crull, you're needed on the bridge. Ground Team Beta just reported in, it sounds like they found something big."

The professor's eyes lit up with childish glee, it was like Christmas had come early. He rushed out of the med bay, pausing just long enough to beckon Shepard and his team to follow him. A few minutes later they arrived on the bridge where the professor began talking eagerly with his subordinates over the ships communicator. "This is professor Crull, ground team beta, go ahead!"

An excited man's voice came over the comm system. "Professor, we've found it!"

His eyes widened "What! Are you absolutely sure!" The professor's voice was ecstatic but laced with doubt.

The man on the com spoke again. "Yes sir, there's no doubt about it. It's sitting right here in front of us. However, we're gonna need some heavy equipment if we're gonna get it up to the Alexandria"

"Consider it done! I'll send everything you need down on the next shuttle." The professor replied quickly and then proceeded to write down everything his crew member listed.

He turned to Shepard and his team. "Commander Shepard, I would like for you and half of your team to make the trip with the heavy equipment."

Shepard blinked. "Is that really necessary...we do have our own mission here after all."

The professor's eyes narrowed. "Trust me commander if you knew what we've just found you'd realize that this is exactly why the Illusive Man chose you and your team for this op." His voice adopted a frustrated edge that only served to pique Shepard's curiosity.

"And what exactly have you and your team found?" Shepard questioned.

"In the time I would waste explaining it to you; you would have been there and learned first hand. Ground team beta's leader will fill you in once you get there. I assure you that this is very much worth your time." If the annoyance in the professor's voice wasn't obvious before it was now.

_'He really doesn't like his orders being questioned.' _Shepard thought absently. "Alright then, Mordin and Jacob will come with me on the shuttle." The aforementioned nodded and made their way back to the elevator. "-Jack, Miranda, and Garrus. I want you three to stay here and keep us notified of anything unusual. Alright?" Two 'Yes sir's met his ears and one "whatever" from Jack. He too made his way to the elevator and from there to the cargo bay and the waiting shuttle.

_-2 hours later-_

After getting the cargo, which consisted mainly of drills, lasers, and explosives, loaded; the shuttle took off for the uncharted world taking with it Shepard and his team. As they got closer to the planet they saw the state of the surface in detail. The gray color of the planet as seen from orbit belied the sheer desolation one would find if they came in for a closer look. The planet's surface currently looked like the end result of a nuclear apocalypse, oddly enough there were several large craters marring the ground at several locations that reinforced this notion. Any trees that were alive before were now broken and black; ironically the only thing keeping them from turning completely to dust was the very lack of atmosphere that killed them in the first place. Any animals that called this planet home had died long ago, only dirt, sand, and the odd skeleton remained to warn anyone insane enough to venture here that there was nothing worth finding amongst the dirt mounds that were once hills and the multiple, crumbling mountain ranges.

Jacob whistled. "What do you think happened that would cause this?"

Shepard remained silent, wondering the same thing. Mordin spoke "Possibility: based on evidence of craters. Suggest either multiple nuclear strikes, or asteroid storm. Crater placement suggests the latter"

"Whatever happened here in the past isn't our concern right now. We just need to get whatever the ground team found and escort it back up to the Alexandria." Shepard interjected.

Jacob nodded and went quiet, but Mordin was a different matter. "Not curious about the past commander? -Inhale- Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past. Doomed to repeat." Mordin replied.

Shepard clarified. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious Mordin. But it isn't my job to speculate, that task belongs to the crew of the Alexandria."

Mordin seemed to accept this and remained quiet for the remainder of the trip, but his mind continued to race with various scenarios and possibilities.

-Planet's surface: 30 minutes later-

The shuttle touched down on a crudely marked landing site just outside of a large cave. A man in an envirosuit was there to meet them as they disembarked.

The man introduced himself; his voice was distorted by his helmets speakers. "Commander Shepard! I'm Christian, the guy in charge of ground team beta. I'm the one who called for the equipment earlier."

"It's a pleasure Christian. Where do you want the mining equipment" Shepard replied cutting right to the chase.

"We'll use the LOKI mechs to deliver the equipment. If all goes as planned you should be out of here with the cargo before the day is done." Christian motioned towards the cave and a few humanoid robots appeared. They made their way to the shuttle to begin unloading the equipment while Shepard and his team followed their guide into the cave.

_-10 minutes later-_

The cave was nothing special. It was pretty much the same as any cave one would find on earth...except for the one big difference being the numerous, small, sparkling gems embedded into the walls. "What kind of gems are those?" Jacob asked as they were walking through a chamber lit by spotlights.

Christian chuckled. "We actually don't know. They have an atomic structure unlike anything we've ever seen. We have been able to determine that they are able to mask energy signatures significantly...but not completely." He added, anticipating the next question being 'how did you find this place then?' His voice then gained an excited tone. They were now walking through a long tunnel a green light at the very end. "But, these crystals are small fry compared to what we've found deeper inside."

"So far I've heard next to nothing about what we're supposed to be escorting back to the Alexandria. Would you mind filling us in?" Shepard's annoyed voice cut through the Christian's euphoria.

Christian chuckled nervously. "My apologies. I hadn't realized the professor hadn't filled you in. What we found is the source of a mysterious energy signature one of our exploratory probes detected."

Mordin blinked. "Power generator?" He reiterated.

Christian shook his head. "Not a power generator per se. What we expected to find was a piece of technology that somehow survived. What we found was..." He walked through the passageway into an eerily green glowing chamber. "...this." He finished with pride.

The chamber they were in was about one hundred feet high and about 200 feet in diameter. The other five members of Beta were there examining every inch of the room. In the center of this room was the source of the chambers glow...

It was a giant crystal.

A crystal unlike anything Shepard had seen before. Its size alone was cause for pause; it was about nine feet tall and four feet in diameter. It was opaque; the light it emitted prevented one from seeing through it. A column of rock jutting down from the ceiling held the crystal upright while it's lower half was attached firmly to the ground. The crystal itself was shaped akin to a spiral, constantly twisting around it giving it a flowing texture. Shepard noticed that this crystal appeared to be of the same as the smaller gems coating the cave walls.

Of his team, Mordin was the first to speak. "Crystal emanating energy? Radioactive?"

Christian nodded. "Created by the unique mix of heavy metals and radioactive substances inside this planet's core, this crystal is indeed radioactive. However, the radiation it gives off appears to neither be harmful nor have any sort of effect on us at all."

Mordin brought his hand to his chin in a thinking gesture, after a minute he spoke. "Long term effects?"

Once more Christian nodded. "That's what we theorize. We believe the radiation doesn't begin showing effects unless a person remains nearby for an extended period. We have yet to establish an exact time frame but it is quite likely that for any effects to occur would take years, maybe even decades."

Jacob chose this time to interject. "What type of radiation are we talking about?"

Christian sighed. "Once more, we aren't sure. Until we can better comprehend what we've found we've decided to unofficially call this particular type of radiation: Echo Waves or EWs for short." He was silent for a moment as he gazed back at the crystal. "There is still so much we don't understand about the universe despite how far we've come. This is just one more thing we have yet to understand, but once we get this crystal to our research bay on the Alexandria, I'm sure the understanding will come with time. "

"That was a very profound statement." Shepard observed.

"I suppose it was." Christian replied turning back to Shepard and his team. "It's true nonetheless."

"How long do you think it will be before the equipment is set up?" Shepard changed the subject.

Christian looked at the cavern entrance towards the LOKI mechs making their way to the crystal, pushing or pulling hovering carts containing heavy mining equipment. "At most I'd say an hour or two to get everything set up and properly calibrated. Until then there's pretty much nothing to do but wait. I'll answer any questions you may have until then..."

_-2 hours later-_

Two hours came and went for the Normandy team. In that time they were able to get a decent grasp of the full situation of the research cell. They were apparently trying to fully determine the extent of the evolution these people went through due to their exposure to the EWs. Because taking samples directly from the planet's core was impractical and very dangerous they decided to look for and obtain any EW emitting substances. Originally they tried taking the smaller crystals that dotted the caves interior but found this one large crystal and the rest, as they say, was history. The only problem with getting the crystal out of the cave was its incredibly durable structure that required heavy machinery to crack.

This brought them to right now. Shepard, his team, and the entirety of Beta were standing near the cavern's entrance. All around the crystal formation were various pieces of mining equipment. Drills along its base to dislodge it from the rock, and plasma cutters up top to cut the crystal down from the rock column without damaging too much of the crystal itself.

Once everything was set up Christian ordered all of them to stand near the cavern entrance just in case the drilling destabilized the cave system and they all had to run to escape a cave-in.

"Is everybody ready?" Christian yelled.

Multiple 'Yes's filled the air. At that he brought up his Omni-tool and typed in the start-up command.

The drills lurched as power began flowing through them. They began to shake as the drill bits began to spin. A quiet whine could be heard emanating from the plasma cutters, indicating they were charging.

A couple of minutes passed of letting the equipment warm up before Christian typed another command into his Omni-tool. On cue, the drills moved forward and began to grind away at the rock holding the bottom part of the crystal in place. At the same time, the mining lasers fired off, launching beams of white hot plasma at the crystal's top most section. At this point it was all just a matter of waiting for the tools to do their job.

A few minutes passed without any visible changes...

15 minutes passed and the plasma torches had succeeded in melting through the outer layer of crystal. The drills still had not made much progress.

At the 30 minute mark the drills had finally succeeded in cracking the rock below the formation. The top part was almost three-quarters of the way to done.

Finally, after almost 40 minutes of solid drilling and cutting the crystal began to wobble, as the torches had succeeded in cutting the top part of the formation away from the main body. The wobbling turning pivoting back and forth in the same spot, each time getting farther out. Then, while digging up a large amount of rock in the process, the crystal broke free from its rocky confines and fell to the ground, emitting a clear pinging sound as it struck the floor.

Christian let out a bark of laughter before shutting off the equipment. The rest of the ground team cheered, seeing their great discovery on its way to being understood. They all rushed forward, Shepard and his team included, wanting an even closer look at what the drills and torches were able to do. The entirety of the ground team was practically salivating with glee, all with thoughts of what they could glean from a find like this.

At that moment, however, it seemed that fate had a surprise or two in-store, for no sooner did the research team begin discussing plans on how to move the giant crystal, than did the crystal begin to glow brighter than before. This gave everyone pause as a seemingly unknown reaction began to occur within the crystal itself as it continued to brighten, threatening to engulf the whole cavern in its light, and forcing all present to tint their visors or risk eye damage. Thinking quickly, Shepard ordered everyone to make for the entrance fearing the crystal was about to explode on them. Nobody argued, and everyone ran not wanting to be to close when the reaction reached its climax.

When they reached the cavern's entrance they turned around and saw the crystal erupt in light so bright that even with the visor tint up at maximum everyone gazing upon it was forced to cover their eyes lest they go blind from the crystal's radiance.

After what seemed like hours, everyone's vision started to clear and they saw that the crystal was no longer glowing. In fact, it now looked as clear as a pane of glass. The research began to rush forward, concerned that the crystal was damaged, when Shepard stopped them "Wait! Let me and my team go first, just in case." They nodded amongst themselves and Shepard began a slow, methodical walk forward towards the now dull mineral.

When he got up next to it his eyes widened and a gasp escaped both his lips and the lips of his comrades, because inside the crystal...

...was a human.

-End chapter-

And that, ladies and gentlemen is chapter 1 of Return of the Fallen. I would like to thank my betas: Snipa, Tutor Verum, and kokirilink for helping me to get this story up and running. Thanks for everything guys!

One or two notes: The outfits worn by Garrus and Jack are the ones they get from the alternate appearance pack, if you need a visual.

A note to all readers, my update schedule will most likely be erratic at best as I am prone to bouts of writers block. I will do my best to update in a consistent manner but I will promise nothing.

As per fanfiction etiquette: read, review, and bear in mind that flamers will be fed to a Thresher Maw.


	2. Awakening

_Well god damn...Has it really been a year already? God that time just flew by..._

_Alright, look I know more than a few of you are probably a little pissed at how I just dropped off the radar with no explanation. I do have a few reasons for that though:_

_First and foremost, sometime after finishing chapter one I completely lost all motivation to continue. Why? Doubt mostly, I couldn't help but think I wouldn't be able to do either Naruto or Mass Effect justice and I didn't want to continue with something I wasn't ready to do. For a newbie like me this was especially troubling._

_Second: The first chapter was written completely on an impulse. I won't say what brought it on but one day I just wanted to try my hand at crossing over these two series and see what happened. Thus, I didn't exactly have a story plot to follow up on and I spent some time ironing that out. I don't want this to be just a rehashing of the game so I did my best to add in elements to make this more...'my own' I guess is the best term._

_Third: College...need I say more? I've been trying to get better about studying and not procrastinating and that's a slow road, let me tell you._

_All reasons aside. I should have posted something to let you all know what the situation was. So let me just say this, I'm sorry. I'm truly, truly sorry. I don't like that I just left this like I did, but I do not plan on leaving this incomplete. Know this much: Sooner or later, one way or another, I WILL finish this story!_

_Well that's all that out in the open. Nothing more left to say except for "I don't own Naruto or Mass Effect"-_

_-and please enjoy the chapter!_

-Chapter Start-

**Ch.2 Awakening**

**2320 Hours**

**January 26, 2185 (Earth Calendar)**

**Crystal Cavern**

Shepard, Mordin, and Jacob could only stare in disbelief. Within the giant crystal was a _human_! The gravity of the situation had them rooted to the spot, their shock at such a thing freezing their mental processes. An actual example of this world's humans was right there, plain as day, and yet they couldn't bring themselves to react.

Shepard was the first to shake off his stupor. He got his teammates attention before giving orders. "Mordin, do a quick scan of the crystal to make sure it's safe to move. Jacob, go to the ground team and ask them to start making preparations to load the crystal on the shuttle." His teammates nodded their ascent. Mordin brought up his Omni-tool and began running scans for radiation; Jacob ran over to the cavern entrance and began exchanging words with Christian. Shepard absently noted that Jacob kept sending quizzical glances toward the crystal and shaking his head as if to dislodge cobwebs.

Shepard turned back to the crystal and took a closer look at the human inside. The human appeared to be anywhere from 5'8" to 5'11". It was impossible to discern any other features because the human was wearing a black cloak with a hood that covered its entire body along with a white mask that was painted in the likeness of an animal, the elongated snout suggesting some sort of canine.

"My god..." A new voice, heavy with amazement, made Shepard turn his head to see Christian and half the ground team standing just behind him. He could see the disbelief in their eyes through the visors on their re-breather helmets. "...A human, an actual human. Perfectly preserved...this-this has so much potential..."

"Not perfectly preserved...Alive." Mordin interrupted his train of thought, amazement in his own voice as he stood to face the two.

Christian and Shepard both stopped and stared at the salarian. "What?"

Mordin inhaled, preparing for an explanation. "Was scanning crystal for radiation; detected none, not even your Echo Waves. Shifted focus. Where did it go? Theorized: Crystal not the source of radiation, merely a conduit. Adjusted scan for other possible sources. Did not find Echo Waves. Instead detected life signs inside crystal." He inhaled again. "At first, believed this impossible. Omni-tool results skewed by ambient radiation permeating rock. Adjusted. Scanned again. Same results. Again. Same results. No other explanation. This human is alive!" He finished with a tone of absolute certainty.

Christian's eyes narrowed. "That's impossible! If that were true then this human has been alive for over 800 years!"

Mordin replied. "Thought the same, still do. But Omni-tool scans are conclusive. The human is alive! Check yourself!"

Christian brought up his own Omni-tool, intent on doing just that. He looked at the display and his eyes widened when he saw signs of a slow but steady heartbeat. "This can't be..." he said as he repeated his own scan. The same results popped up and he staggered and fell to his knees right in front of the crystal, staring at the human inside.

Shepard, who until this time had zoned out after hearing that the human was alive, snapped back to reality and narrowed his eyes. "Something just occurred to me..."

Mordin looked at him curiously. "If this human has been kept alive up to this point, it's safe to assume it's been because this crystal was connected to the cave as a whole right?" Mordin thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Well, since we disconnected the circuit, so to speak, what happens to our friend here?" Shepard pointed at the crystal.

Mordin brought his hand to his chin. "Likely no danger. This human has survived over 800 years without air, food, or water. Disconnecting crystal not like disconnecting life-support. Still...wonder how it's possible."

Shepard nodded. "You and me both."

Suddenly, Jacob's voice came over their helmet's comm system. "_Commander Shepard."_

"Go ahead Jacob." Shepard replied.

"_Yes sir. Do you remember the glowing crystals in the cave walls as we came in?"_ Jacob asked.

Shepard adopted a quizzical look. "What about them?"

The comm was silent for a moment. "_...I'm not sure why, but they've stopped glowing."_

Shepard looked at the crystal on the floor and narrowed his eyes. "I think I've got a pretty good idea what happened."

"_You think that our friend in the crystal had something to do with this? That seems unlikely?"_ Jacob said.

"Not as unlikely as you might think..." Shepard trailed off.

"_What do you mean?"_ Jacob replied.

Shepard sighed; this wasn't going to be easily explained. "Mordin ran a few scans for radiation on the crystal. He didn't find any but he discovered that the human inside is somehow still alive."

There was silence for a moment. Most likely because Jacob was trying to regain his mental faculties, but eventually he forced out a-"_What?"_

"I know how you feel. It was a shock to us as well, but we can wonder about how this is possible later. How quickly can we get the crystal out of here?" Shepard said, his voice shifting back to an authoritative tone.

Jacob chuckled. "_Right. Sorry commander, we're at the shuttle now. It shouldn't take us more than a few minutes to get there, collect the crystal, and get it on board."_

Shepard nodded at Mordin, who nodded back. "Crystal is safe to move. Will require LOKI mechs to transport."

Shepard spoke into the radio. "Did you get that Jacob?"

Jacob responded almost immediately. "_Yes sir. I'm sending the mechs as we speak."_

Shepard let an unseen smile grace his lips. He turned to Christian. "Radio the Alexandria and let them know what we've found. Tell them to also get a bed ready in the med-bay; no doubt once they hear about this they'll be eager to start running tests."

Christian accessed his helmet's radio and made his way out of the cavern, most likely to lessen signal interference.

As Christian left, Jacob and the LOKI mechs appeared with a hover-cart. They loaded the crystal on board and began the trek back to the shuttle. As they were walking, Shepard noticed that Jacob was falling back behind everyone else. He slowed his steps and eventually fell beside the Cerberus operative. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Jacob said quickly.

"Does it have to do with the crystal?" Shepard pressed.

Jacob's eyes narrowed for a moment, before he relented. "Alright, there is something. I don't know what it is but when I get too close to that thing my biotics start acting up."

Shepard furrowed his brows. "Acting up? What do you mean?"

Jacob looked at the ground for a moment. "I don't know, sir. It's like this, when I get too close the biotic amps in my head start buzzing. It's not a problem, as soon as I got out of the cavern the buzzing stopped. I even tested my biotics in the cave and everything worked fine. It's just something about that crystal..." He trailed off at the end, uncertainty in his voice.

Shepard stared at the crystal in the cart for a moment. "Well it's obvious that there's more to this human than we know. With all that's happened so far I wouldn't be surprised if your biotics are reacting to something that has to do with it. We'll talk to the scientists on the Alexandria when we get back, see if they have any explanation." Jacob seemed to accept this and turned his gaze back forward. Inwardly, Shepard felt worried, but hid it for others sake. From what he saw in the Alexandria's med-bay to what had transpired in this cave, he began to wonder just what these people were capable of if one of their own was still alive after eight centuries like this. Furthermore, if they were capable of something like this, what happened to the rest of them?

These thoughts plagued his mind as he and his teammates boarded the shuttle. He took one last look at the crystal before it was secured in the cargo area and thought, "_Who are you?"_

**-30 Minutes Later: Alexandria Shuttle Bay-**

The mechs had just finished loading the crystal into a cart when professor Crull found them and demanded to examine the crystal. His mouth hung open with wonder as he gazed upon the visage of the human frozen in crystal. "This is remarkable..." He breathed. He quickly turned to Shepard. "We need to get this up to the med-bay immediately!"

Shepard nodded before motioning with his hand for his team to move out. He walked in front of the cart with Crull, while Jacob and Mordin walked along the sides of the cart, Mordin using his Omni-tool to direct the cart forward into the elevator. The mechs were ordered to follow behind.

On their way up to the medical bay Jacob decided to voice his concern about the crystal. "Professor, do you have many biotics on your crew?"

Professor Crull gave Jacob a confused look and shook his head. "No, we don't have much of a need for biotics here, except for the occasional heavy lifting and even then we just use the mechs. Why do you ask?"

Jacob tensed up. "Ever since we cut this thing out of the cave, every time I've been near it, my biotic amps start buzzing and humming." He paused for a moment before adding. "I'm not really sure why it happens, and it doesn't appear to have any noticeable effect on my biotics."

Even before Jacob finished professor Crull was using his Omni-tool to run various scans trying to find the cause of the phenomena. "That is very interesting Mr. Taylor. To help allay your worries let me assure you that your situation is not uncommon, it just means that your biotic amps are coming into contact with a foreign energy or radiation."

Shepard connected the dots. "You mean like the Echo Waves?"

Professor Crull nodded. "Precisely commander. Working from there I can assume that there is still some form of energy stored somewhere in the crystal, or perhaps even the human itself."

"Is that dangerous?" Shepard asked.

The professor thought for a moment, then frowned. "I don't believe so. Any residual Echo Waves lingering with the crystal shouldn't have any more effect on you than they did on our teams over the last few weeks."

What was left of the elevator ride passed in silence; they disembarked on the medical deck and were almost immediately swarmed by overeager scientists wanting a close up of what could be one of the greatest archaeological finds of the century.

Crull immediately started barking orders to the mob. Telling them to prepare a bed to lay the crystal on as well as ordering specific equipment to study his team's incredible find.

As the mob dispersed to carry out their orders Miranda, Jack, and Garrus forced their way through the crowd. "Shepard, we heard you...found...something..." Garrus trailed off as he got closer and saw the crystal and the human it contained.

Miranda's eyes widened as she walked right up next to the crystal. She put her hand on its glowing facets and whispered. "Wow..."

Jack's reaction was much more subdued than everyone else, her past experiences teaching her to keep her feelings hidden from others. Nonetheless, her eyes still widened a fraction behind her visor and her jaw hung slack unable to form words.

Miranda was the first to recover from shock. "When we heard about what you found none of us believed it. Is it really still alive in there?"

Mordin smiled and nodded. "Astonishing isn't it. Didn't believe it myself."

"Do you have any ideas as to how this is possible?" Garrus asked him.

Mordin shook his head. "Impossible to determine. Omni-tool not suited for such in-depth analysis. Need more advanced equipment." He turned to Professor Crull. "Would like to assist in examination of crystal and human inside."

Professor Crull, who up until this point had been focusing exclusively on the crystal, narrowed his eyes. "That won't be necessary. My team and I have this more than well in hand" He spoke in a voice containing veiled contempt.

Mordin was taken aback; he blinked a couple of times in confusion. Shepard chose that moment to intervene on his behalf. "Are you sure? It looks like you could use all the help you can get?"

Crull answered almost immediately. "It's _fine_ Commander. My team and I team are more than enough to handle this." He all but hissed. "Besides we're dealing with a human here. Who better to do an examination of a human than another human?" Everyone in the hall could tell he was just trying to end the conversation.

Shepard narrowed his eyes. _'That's bullshit if I've ever heard it.' _He was about to speak until Mordin him to it. "I understand. Situation is...delicate. Will not interfere, but would like chance to examine human eventually."

Shepard's and, surprisingly, Crull's eyes widened at his statement. "...We'll see what we can do." He said with a degree of reluctance.

"Hold on!" Shepard spoke in a raised voice. "I don't know what your problem is but Mordin easily has more experience with this sort of thing than anyone else here. Is your petty prejudice your only reason why he shouldn't be here to help examine this thing?"

At this accusation the eyes of just about all of the people around widened, the professor took it a step further by letting his mouth hang open. Everyone stared at Shepard for a minute before Crull grit his teeth and managed to ground out a response. "My personal bias is none of your business _Commander_. But since you were so kind as to point it out, yes that is part of the reason I don't want _him_-" he pointed at Mordin "-examining the human."

"Only part of the reason?" Garrus cut in, his voice dripping with skepticism and his fists clenched. Although he might not know Mordin that well, prejudice was never something he let slide. Especially if it was directed toward someone whom he would probably have to trust with his life sometime in the future.

"Yes. I'll be one of the first people here to admit I don't like aliens. Ever since humanity became part of the galactic community we've been distrusted and scorned merely because we're more proactive and aggressive than most. Those feelings against us only increased when we accomplished in mere decades what other species are still working towards today, attaining a seat on the citadel council. But that's just part of the issue, the rest is _you, Commander Shepard_." He spat the last few words.

"Me? Really?" Shepard said with amusement, his arms crossed.

"Yes, you. The Illusive Man informed us of your distrust of our organization as a whole. So, quite frankly Shepard, I won't trust the examination of such a find to someone whose loyalties to Cerberus are...questionable." He spoke.

"Sounds like you're planning to do something to this human most would consider unethical." Shepard accused.

"As anyone in Cerberus will tell you, you can't play it safe all the time and expect to get anywhere. You have to be willing to do whatever is necessary." He spoke with conviction. He turned away from the Normandy team and focused his attention solely on the crystal, at this point choosing to ignore the looks of anger he was receiving from Shepard, Jack, and Garrus. Mordin, Miranda, and Jacob choosing instead to sit the argument out.

After everyone calmed down they continued making their way towards the med-bay Shepard shifted his focus and filled in his team as to what happened planetside. Inside the med-bay they found that a special containment area had been set up to protect the crystal from any foreign particles or bacteria that could be detrimental to the human inside. Surrounding one of the beds was what looked like a giant glass incubator. At this point the mechs were ordered to carefully lift the crystal out of the cart and place it into the chamber for sterilization.

As soon as the environment was sealed. A scanner, located above the crystal, began analyzing it and the human inside. A moment later the results appeared on a screen next to the bed.

Miranda, being the closest one to the screen, read the results. "The scanner has picked up on the human's life signs. I'm seeing a slow but steady heartbeat, and minimal neural activity. The scans have also picked up an unusual energy source emanating from the human as well." She turned to Crull, hoping for an explanation.

"That's to be expected. After all, his race evolved and thrived on a planet that put out several types of unknown radiation. It's to be expected that the organisms that once called that world 'home' emit the same signature." He explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

She nodded in understanding and then turned to face the rest of the Normandy team. "We should report our...discovery," She gestured at the crystal. "...to the Illusive Man. I have no doubt he'll be very interested in learning about what we've found."

Shepard nodded and turned to the professor. "The Normandy has a quantum transmitter linked directly to the Illusive Man's office. We'll use that if it's alright with you."

The professor thought for a moment before answering. "That sounds agreeable commander." He gestured to his subordinates to take over the medical bay before following Shepard out the door.

None of them noticed a small crack beginning to form on the crystal's underside...

- **Normandy Communications Room**-

Shepard stood in front of the conference table with his team and Professor Crull. He turned to Miranda, "Have we transmitted all the relevant data?" Shepard asked his XO. "Affirmative Commander. The Illusive Man is requesting to speak to you, as well as Professor Crull."

The professor stiffened slightly at the news. It wasn't very often that the Illusive Man requested to speak to someone personally, most, if any, contact he had had with the Illusive Man occurred in the form of discreet extranet messages or orders from one of his direct subordinates. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to calm his nervous breathing before the table in the middle of the room sank into the floor and a large cylindrical hologram appeared in the space the table once occupied.

As Shepard and the professor walked into the hologram the communication room's door opened,revealing one of the members of the Alexandria's crew. He wore a look of concern and urgency.

Miranda looked at him quizzically, wondering why he was here. "Is there a problem?" She asked.

XXXXXXX

Inside the hologram itself, Shepard and Crull were greeted by the sight of the Illusive Man in his office. He was currently standing up and looking at the two with what could only be described as a look of smug satisfaction.

"_Gentlemen."_ He greeted before turning to face Crull directly. "_I just finished looking over your report professor and congratulations are in order. What you've found is undeniably one of the greatest archaeological finds in humanity's history."_

Crull nodded and let a prideful grin form on his face. "Thank you sir." He replied.

"What happens now?" Shepard queried.

The Illusive Man turned his attention to the commander. "_You, commander, are to resume your original mission. Thankfully, the Collectors still haven't made any noticeable forays into Terminus space."_

Shepard blinked in confusion. "Excuse me? I thought that this cell needed a team like mine to keep them safe from potential Geth attacks?" He asked.

"_That's correct, but your original mission takes precedence. I asked you to come all this way because you and your team were the only readily available team of any Cerberus personnel I could send. As of now, however, I've taken the liberty of hiring a team of Eclipse mercenaries to serve as protection for the duration of the Alexandria's assignment. They are currently on their way now to relieve you. It's unfortunate that despite their skills they aren't up to your team's caliber, but I'm confident they'll be more than enough for this mission." _The Illusive Man explained.

Both Shepard and Crull nodded at this news, they both knew that Shepard's mission there was temporary due to a lack of Cerberus personnel with experience fighting the Geth.

"_However, I'm afraid that the human will have to go with Shepard when he leaves."_

This statement surprised them both. "What-but sir..." Crull tried to protest began before being cut off.

"_This is non-negotiable Professor. The Alexandria is an exploratory research vessel. It doesn't have the proper equipment for such a delicate procedure as examining a living member of what should be a dead race." _The Illusive Man spoke before turning to Shepard. "_After you and your team's departure; head to Omega. Once there, a Cerberus team will meet up with you and take the human to a secure facility to be studied in-depth." _He finished with a look of self-satisfaction on his face.

Shepard frowned. He saw what had happened with things Cerberus studied "in-depth", usually culminated in dead civilians and the occasional population of a small colony mysteriously disappearing. "What sort of "in-depth" study do you have in mind?" He asked, his voice laced with skepticism.

The Illusive Man remained impassive, easily seeing the Commander's thinly veiled accusation. "_There's nothing for you to worry about Shepard. The human will be treated with the utmost care." _He answered curtly.

Shepard, however, was unconvinced and about to voice his concerns when he was interrupted by the voice of his XO.

"Pardon me-" Miranda said as she walked into the hologram. "-But I'm afraid that a problem has arisen that requires our immediate attention." She addressed Shepard and the professor.

"_What's happening Miranda?" _The Illusive Man queried.

Miranda looked uncomfortable before answering. "Something is happening with the crystal that we didn't foresee. We need Shepard, along with his team, and the professor to come to the med-bay immediately!" Her tone was steadily growing more urgent.

The Illusive Man nodded. "_Very well then." _He said to Miranda before turning the other two. "_Gentlemen, we'll have this conversation another time. End transmission."_

With that the hologram disappeared, leaving the three people standing there. "Come on!" Miranda rushed them out the door.

XXXXXXX

**-Alexandria Corridor: 5 minutes later-**

"What exactly is happening Ms. Lawson?" Crull asked as they all but ran through the Alexandria's hallways leading to the med-bay.

Miranda didn't stop running as she responded. "One of your subordinates, professor, came in just after you began talking with the Illusive Man. He needed you to come to the med-bay because apparently the crystal surrounding the human is beginning to break."

Professor Crull looked both livid and shocked at this news. "What the hell happened Ms. Lawson?"

As they rounded the corner near the med bay Miranda had opened her mouth to answer when-

**BOOOOM!**

An explosion came from the corridor leading to the med-bay.

Shepard and Miranda immediately dropped to the floor, Miranda making sure to pull the professor down for his own safety.

After the shocks subsided Shepard was on his feet again rushing down the corridors towards the med-bay trying to get a hold of anyone down there via comlink. While Miranda stayed with the professor to make sure he was alright.

"Someone answer! What's the situation!" He all but yelled into his comm.

He was somewhat relieved when Garrus answered. "We're all fine here commander. A few cuts and bruises from the explosion but no serious injuries. There is one thing though..."

Shepard was about to ask for clarification when he rounded the corner next to the med-bay and found the rest of his team, plus a couple of lab techs currently tending to minor injuries sustained in the explosion.

Garrus waved him over. "What happened?" Shepard asked as he reached them.

Garrus answered him. "I assume Miranda already told you about the crystal beginning to crack?" He questioned. At the commander's nod he continued. "Alright, well when you were talking with the Illusive Man a technician rushed in and demanded to speak with the professor. When we explained that he was preoccupied he instead asked us to come down here and help. The explanation he gave was that there was "a problem with the crystal". When we got here, to the med-bay, we saw what he meant. Cracks were forming all over the thing and were spreading at an alarming rate."

"What happened? Did we damage it when we moved it?" Shepard asked.

This time it was Mordin who answered. "No, no damage. Ran scans on crystal and discovered a large amount of energy growing inside, leading to molecular destabilization and explosion." he paused to let it sink in.

"But then where did that energy come from? Did the human inside the crystal have anything to do with it?" Shepard asked.

Mordin put a hand to his chin in a thinking gesture. "Possible. Energy being generated could have been dispersed through the crystals in the cave. When disconnected, energy had nowhere to go and began to build, eventually causing explosion in order to break crystal and free the human." He paused to inhale. "Fascinating. As for where it came from, only logical conclusion is that it came from the human itself. Possibly biotic in nature, but not one hundred percent sure."

"And the human?" Shepard inquired. "Is it still in one piece?"

"Looks fine from where I'm standing." Jacob chimed in while holding his aching head, pointing through the destroyed window to the human who was still laying on the bed, it's cloak barely ruffled and it's mask still on its face despite the explosion. The human could have easily have been mistaken for dead if it weren't for the gentle rise and fall of the chest, indicating it was breathing.

Shepard nodded turned to the rest of the people in the hallway. "Is everyone alright?"

A series of nods and muttered 'yes's, along with a more than a few curses, courtesy of Jack, met his inquiry.

"What the hell happened here?" An angry voice spoke up from behind them. They turned to see Professor Crull walking down the hall, looking positively livid, with Miranda beside him.

It only took a brief moment to bring the professor up to speed on what had occurred, not that it did anything to improve his mood. He instead tried to take his mind off of matters by taking charge of the situation at hand.

"You two." He said, pointing at two of the techs. "Go in there and make sure that its unharmed. After that I want a full medical screening. That explosion served some good in that we don't have to waste time cracking open that infernal crystal. Use what sedatives we still have to keep it asleep until we can transfer it to the Normandy."

Shepard turned to Crull and pointed at Mordin. "Mordin can help as well. If he's coming on _my _ship then I want one of my crew here for a medical examination." The tone in his voice made it clear there would be no negotiation.

Professor Crull looked like he was about to argue, but relented, exhausted by the events thus far. "Fine." He said in a defeated tone. He turned to Mordin. "Do whatever you want. Just hurry up and get that _thing-" _He spat. "-off of my ship. It has quickly become more trouble than it's worth!" And with that he began walking off, all the while muttering darkly about Shepard, The Illusive Man, and a growing need for migraine medication, in the form of a tall scotch.

They nodded and immediately set to work. At the human's beside one of them rolled up the cloak's sleeve and prepared a spot to administer the sedative while the other tried to repair the machine used to monitor the human's heart rate and neural activity. Mordin, knowing that was a fool's errand, hung back and began trying to re-acquire the it's biological parameters since most of the machines that would normally fulfill that task were good for nothing more than scrap metal due to the shards of the crystal that now permeated their circuitry.

Mordin merely observed while he adjusted his Omni-tool as the other tech returned with a syringe full of sedative. "Get that mask off." He told his partner. Said partner nodded and began reaching for the mask while the other began lowering the syringe to the human's skin. What happened next, however, happened so fast that only Mordin was able to see everything.

Now Mordin, like all other Salarians, was blessed with powers of observation far beyond that of a normal human. His senses conveyed more information to his brain, and his brain could process that information far faster than a human's could and not forget a single thing. These traits combined gave him unparalleled perceptive abilities, especially when it came to small details. Mordin was standing at the end of the table when the tech moved to inject the sedative; this gave him an unobstructed view of every one of the human's limbs, whereas the techs, standing on the left side of the table, only paid attention to the human's left side.

Mordin's position at the end of the table allowed him to see something the techs missed. Just before the needle pricked its skin. It was brief, practically unnoticeable to the untrained eye, but Mordin saw it, the briefest of twitches from the human's right hand, indicative of someone tensing their muscles in preparation for action.

Time seemed to slow for Mordin as his eyes narrowed and his hand immediately went for his gun, much to the brief surprise of everyone both inside and outside the med-bay. What surprised Mordin was that the human, almost as if it knew it was found out burst into action at the same time.

Less than 1.15 seconds...

That was how long it would take for Mordin to draw his weapon and take aim, the muscle memory built up by years in the STG once more coming to his aid.

In that same time frame the human sprang into action, suddenly turning onto its left side and lashing out with the right foot, knocking the tech with the syringe to the ground while using the momentum from the kick to flip itself off the bed and land feet first. From there it quickly spun the second tech around, grabbing the back of his uniform with its left hand, and quickly drew it's right hand into the sleeve and brought it back out holding two double-sided knives one of which was quickly thrown in Mordin's direction while the other was quickly placed at the techs throat.

At this point Mordin had his gun out and trained on the now awake human but was forced to dodge to his right to avoid the knife. Mentally cursing as he had lost the optimum position to get a clean shot at the head. Now he was standing in front of it with the rest of the Normandy crew, the lab tech obstructing his line of fire.

All of this before anyone else even had their guns drawn.

Time seemed to speed up again as the rest of the Normandy crew drew their own weapons and trained them on the now fully awake and aware human.

A tense standoff ensued; Shepard and his team staring straight at the human's masked face and it staring straight back. Neither side moving.

A million thoughts raced through Shepard's head as he tried to make sense of what had just transpired. Somehow, the human was now awake scant minutes after being free for the first time in centuries. It had taken a hostage and was currently poised to kill said hostage if anyone opposite it made a wrong move. Shepard knew that the person standing across from them was probably more scared and confused than anything. He couldn't help but think back to the day he awoke in that Cerberus lab. Remembering how confused he was back then, he couldn't help but empathize with the human a little. But these were thoughts for another time; right now he had to focus on getting the lab tech out of the way without killing him.

Off to his side he couldn't help but smirk as Garrus said. "Why is it that whenever we're involved in things like this it always goes bad? Every. Single. Time."

He sighed mentally. _'Just another day in the life.'_ He thought to himself.

-Chapter End-

_Another cliffhanger...sort of. Sorry but this chapter really fought with me._

_Honestly, this chapter does not feel like my best work. It just seems like there's something missing..._

_Well next up is chapter 3. Where our shinobi friend get's a proper introduction (even though most of you probably already know who it is), and the Normandy crew gets a taste of what Chakra can do._

_As always, please review. I really like getting feedback from my readers on what's good, bad, or just what's on your mind as you read. So don't be afraid to say something._


	3. Parallel Views

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect!_

_AN: Another year, another chapter. I'm going to skip my attempts at lightening the mood and just say that it was never my intention to make you all wait another year for one update. But, sadly, 2012 was not a good year, for not just me but my whole family._

_Let me start at the beginning: I was so excited for Mass Effect 3 that I made sure that, come hell or high water, I had chapter 2 out on the day it was released as a way to celebrate. I had the game beaten in just over a week. And for a while afterwards every time I so much as looked at anything Mass Effect related I was just filled with a sense of apathy. I didn't hate the ME 3 ending, but I was so disappointed that I just needed a break from Mass Effect in general for a while._

_It took a while before I started working on this chapter again and I was actually almost halfway done with this chapter when my family was struck by some major health emergencies. I won't go into too much detail but by the time that 2012 was said and done I had lost 2 uncles, one of whom I was very close to, another just barely avoided a potentially lethal blood clot by mere days, and my grandfather was hospitalized on Thanksgiving of all days due to a series of micro-strokes._

_2012 was not a good year. It was exhausting on both a physical and emotional level. I didn't get back into this fiction until after the Mass Effect trilogy was released and I was finally able to start getting my groove back by playing the original Mass Effect on PS3. I am very, very sorry it has taken this long but with this chapter finally posted, and the baggage I've come to associate with it put to rest I hope to get the next chapter sooner._

_So with that said…On with the chapter_

Chapter 3

"Parallel Views"

In this world there are many different points of view. When two people observe the same event from two different angles they see two different things.

Unbeknownst to Shepard and his team. There was a second point of view to the events that had just transpired. They didn't know it, but the human they had been so eager to examine had been awake from almost the very moment the crystal shattered in that explosion...

**-Flashback: 5 minutes ago. Just after the explosion-**

For the first time in almost a millennium. A pair of eyes opened to see the bright lights of a medical institution above them through the eye holes in his mask. The typical sterile smell was almost overpowered by the stink of smoke and scorched metal. Years of training came back in an instant as he ran over a checklist in his head: He needed to know where he was, _when_ he was, who the people that had found him were...etc. The head attached to the eyes quickly, and surreptitiously began to turn so as to gather information about his surroundings without drawing attention. The explosion from the crystal luckily diverted all attention from this action.

To his right there was a wall, peppered with small holes, about four or five feet from the side of the examination table he was lying on. To his left he saw what he assumed was medical equipment, a heart rate monitor, and various instruments. Only far more advanced than anything he had ever seen before.

Shit, how long had he been asleep for?

The room itself was fairly large, measuring about 50 by 100 feet and holding about 6-7 beds. That confirmed his first impression, definitely a medical area, but meant for practicality not comfort. That meant he wasn't in a hospital.

Through a blown out window on the far end of the room he saw a large group of people currently tending to minor injuries, most of them only suffering from superficial wounds. Almost all of them wore some form of form-fitting suit with sections of body armor and they all had the same symbol. A yellow elongated hexagon with a gap at the bottom vertex, flanked on both sides with black lines that started at the top of the left and right sides and came down and ended around the midpoint of the bottom diagonal sides. He narrowed his eyes behind his mask. That was not the symbol of an organization he was familiar with. His instincts were telling him to be careful here, until otherwise proven the people here would be presumed to have...less than noble intentions for him.

Judging from their minor injuries they must have realized what was going on and gotten some distance away from the crystal before the explosion. Smart…or just lucky. His eyes widened when he saw that among them were two beings the likes of which he had never seen before.

One was over six feet tall, had three fingers on each hand, and had grayish-green, almost metallic looking skin, mandibles, and a crest on its head not unlike that of a bird. That description was reinforced by its speech being comprised of clicks, chirps, and the odd growl. It was wearing some type of heavy armor he had never seen before.

The other was shorter between five and six feet tall, and very slender. It, too, had three fingers on each hand and a long, thin head with two stubby horns on top, one of them looking like it was taken off at some point. Its skin was a reddish color and it had eyes not unlike an amphibian. It speech seemed to be a mix of croaks, and small guttural sounds, not unlike a frog or toad. It was wearing what looked like armor as well, but lighter, as well as red and white, armor that looked like it belonged to a scientist or medic.

Both of the creatures looked like they had seen their fair share of combat if the numerous scars on their faces were any indication. Oddly enough, he couldn't see the odd hexagonal symbol on either beings armor. Maybe because they were so...different?

Suddenly, a new person joined the group. He was a tall man, a little over six feet probably, with a shaved head. The armor he was wearing looked a good deal heavier than the others but, for some reason, also didn't have the strange symbol, or coloring all the other humans did. Instead, his armor was mostly gray, with red highlights. He seemed to be in charge as he immediately began issuing orders. At this point he mentally growled in annoyance, they were speaking in a language that was completely unintelligible to him. He must have been asleep for a very long time if he could no longer understand the language.

He may not have been able to understand what was being said but he could see the results. The other people were beginning to stand, their injuries taking a back seat for now. Seeing this new person quickly begin to dissipate their fear he quickly turned his head back to its original position. It wouldn't be long before their attention was focused squarely on him and it would be best if they didn't know he was awake yet.

While he lay there, he overheard the sounds of two other people arriving outside, followed by heated words, and one person, an older man by the sound of his voice, walking off in anger.

He continued to lay there motionless as two humans and the amphibian-like creature came to his bedside. He almost lashed out when one of them rolled up his sleeve but held back, it wasn't time yet. His sensitive ears picked up the faint telltale sounds of a syringe being inserted into a bottle and his eyes narrowed as he realized why they rolled up his sleeve.

He heard the man with the syringe make his way back over to him and tell his partner something. He felt a hand grab his wrist to keep it steady for the injection and he saw the other man reach out for his mask.

He tensed, and struck.

Faster than any normal human could possibly keep up with he turned onto his left side and viciously kicked the man with the syringe, sending him to the floor where he slipped into blissful unconsciousness. He then flipped off the bed and had spun the other tech around so as to take him hostage when he saw the amphibian creature currently reaching for something on its waist.

The creature was fast, much faster than he had expected, but sadly, not as fast as him. Quickly pulling two kunai out of his sleeve, he threw one at the creatures head while the other immediately went to his hostage's throat.

The creature successfully ducked to its right and, realizing it lost its vantage point, quickly backpedaled to the room's entrance where it joined a group of five that were no doubt drawn in by the commotion.

Now he found himself staring down a group of at least six trained individuals pointing weapons he had never seen before at him from across the room.

The man in the heavy armor from before, obviously their leader, made a few hand gestures while speaking to his team, probably to hold off on attacking with the hostage there. Then there were the bird and amphibian creatures, and three other humans he hadn't taken into account. Two of them, a dark-skinned man and a fairly good-looking woman had on suits sporting the hexagonal symbol. While the last was a woman who looked like a stereotypical punk, with a shaved head, dressed in odd clothes, with an ungodly amount of tattoos covering her body.

A standoff ensued. Neither side was willing to risk making the first move. He took this opportunity to examine to peculiar weapons these people were pointing at him. He had never seen anything like these weapons before, though the presence of a trigger mechanism and barrel obviously made them some form of projectile launcher.

He ran the scenario over in his head: He was currently outnumbered, but he had a hostage and these people seemed unwilling to risk the man's life. If they were completely ruthless they would have killed both the hostage and him by now, but they obviously wanted him alive. Why? For what purpose?

He frowned behind his mask and recalled the standard operating procedure for shinobi in this situation.

At this point these people were assumed hostile. His first course of action should be to get away as fast as he can, find a secure location and try to take full stock of his condition, find out the motives behind his presence here, and, if those motives proved detrimental to remaining alive, escape.

Taking his hostage gave him a brief respite. They weren't going to attack so long as he held this man's life in his hands. However, this opportunity wouldn't last forever; he needed to make the most of it.

First things first he needed: get a decent idea of how much of a threat these people were. They hadn't tried to use any jutsu yet, and instead were pointing those weird weapons at him. That told him that there was a possibility that they were weak chakra-wise.

He took a deep, even breath and extended his senses...

...only to gasp quietly when he couldn't sense anything from the people before him.

He closed his eyes and focused exclusively on the six in front of him.

...Nothing. Not a single trace of any chakra anywhere, except from him.

His breathing began to grow abnormal. What was going on here? None of these people had chakra? That was impossible! Even normal civilians had SOME chakra. All living organisms required chakra to live!

Calming his erratic breathing, he grit his teeth and tried once more while pushing his sensory capabilities to their current limit. This time however, he did sense something. It was faint but he could definitely see that the two women and the dark-skinned man had some sort of unusual power surrounding them.

But once more, it wasn't chakra. It wasn't even remotely similar. It felt...darker? He wasn't quite sure; his sensory capabilities had never been his strong suit even after the mandatory ANBU sensor training.

This discovery immediately bumped the three of them to the top of the threats list.

He focused on the whole group once again; the sensing he performed had taken almost three minutes. Not a lot of time, but enough to start making some among the group antsy. Particularly the avian one, he could see it's three fingers constantly tightening and loosening its grip on the weapon. It, along with the tattooed one, who was currently giving him one of the most fearsome, angry glares he had ever seen, would be the ones most likely to act first and that would be soon unless he did something to pre-empt them.

He glanced from them, to the window not far to their collective left, and the people outside in the hallway watching the preceding scenario almost fearfully.

Unbeknownst to the Normandy team, a small grin formed on the man's face underneath his mask, he already knew what he was going to do.

Slowly, he began walking out into the aisle, keeping his hostage between him and the group of people with the weapons at all times, the Normandy team tracking his movements carefully the whole time.

He stopped when there was roughly ten feet separating the two groups and about half of that to the window itself.

Then, much to the surprise of everyone present, he took his kunai away from his hostage's throat and lowered it to his side.

_XXXXXXXX_

Shepard, taking this as a gesture of surrender, glanced at Garrus on his right, who glanced back with the same expression. Understanding the silent message, the sniper nodded and shifted his aim slightly to get a clearer shot at the human's head...just in case.

With that done Shepard slowly holstered his weapon took a breath and took a step forward.

The second he did, however, the hand holding the kunai shot inside its cloak and returned clutching a new object. Said object was quickly thrown at the ground and a large, opaque cloud of smoke appeared, blocking their view of the human.

_XXXXXXXX_

As the cloud of smoke engulfed him he quickly put the rest of his plan into action. He let go of the hostage, followed by a sharp blow to the back of his head, lifted his foot, and kicked the man towards where he knew the group of people were.

Now, one would be forgiven for thinking that just giving up a hostage would be a bad idea on the man's part, especially given his current situation. But this was no normal man, even by the standards of the rest of the galaxy. This action also gave the man one important advantage...

...it freed up his hands.

As he was bringing his leg up for the kick, his hands quickly came together and began forming hand seals that, to him, seemed like he had just used yesterday.

_Tiger-Ox-Dog-Rabbit-Snake_

And with the seals done he proceeded to speak for the first time in almost a thousand years. **"****Futon: ****Daitoppa****"**

**_XXXXXXXX_**

Shepard, being the closest, caught the man as he stumbled forward out of the smoke and collapsed unconscious.

From within the cloud, he heard the human shout, in a distinctly male voice, something in some language he couldn't comprehend.

A moment later he felt a powerful gust of wind come out of nowhere, the group thrown off their feet to slam into the wall behind them. They hit the floor in a heap.

Shepard sprang back to his feet just in time to see the human leap out of the cloud, through the destroyed window, knock over two of the Cerberus techs in his way, take off down the hallway, and disappear around a corner.

"Shit." Was the first word that came to his mind. He turned back to his team, who were trying to untangle themselves from the pile they had landed in.

"What the FUCK just happened!?" Came the voice of the quasi-psychopath named Jack as she managed to get up.

"That's a very good question." Garrus replied as he stood up. He looked at Miranda accusingly. "Didn't you check for eezo readings when you brought the crystal on board!?"

Miranda glared at him. "Of course we did! There wasn't a single trace of Element Zero in that crystal, not from the human either. Whatever just happened wasn't eezo related." She growled.

"Then how exactly did that just happen?" Garrus shot back.

Miranda wasn't given a chance to reply when Shepard cut in. "Enough! Both of you! We have bigger things to worry about now! There is a man running around this ship that is incredibly dangerous, with abilities that may or may not be biotic. We need to find this person before someone else gets hurt." His voice carried the weight of his position; everyone straightened up and gave him their full attention.

Shepard turned to Mordin. "Mordin, I need you to stay here and tend to the wounded, starting with-" he pointed to the unconscious man on the floor. "-him. Keep in touch over the comm" Mordin nodded and immediately set to work, he turned to the others. "The rest of you are with me. We're going to have to hunt this guy down, and subdue him. We need to bring him back...unharmed if possible." The last part directed mostly at Jack, who shot him a dirty look in response.

Now he turned to the men and women in the hall. "I need one of you to contact Professor Crull and let him know the situation."

"I can do that." One of the women, a brunette, answered him.

"It would be prudent if we also began locking down sections of the Alexandria. Catching the human will be much easier if we box it in." Miranda suggested.

"That's a good idea." He said as he once more turned to the assembled techs. "I need one or more of you to contact the bridge. Let them know the situation and tell them to start cutting off access to the other sections of the Alexandria."

Two more techs nodded and began heading for the elevator. Shepard put a finger to his ear to access his COMM. "EDI, seal off the airlock leading to the Normandy."

"_Already done Shepard. I have been monitoring the situation closely since the crystal exploded. I also have locked onto the human's life signs. It is currently moving along the port section of the ship, it's current direction will lead it to the upper levels of the cargo bay. That would be the optimal place to trap it with the lowest risk of injury for all parties."_ EDI replied.

Shepard paused to think for moment before he adopted a look of understanding.

Garrus knew Shepard well enough to guess what he was thinking. "Let me guess...you have a plan?" He said with a small grin.

Shepard nodded. "Yeah, let's start making our way to the cargo bay. I'll tell you on the way."

_XXXXXXXX_

He had to escape.

That was the thought that at the forefront of his mind as he ran through the metal corridors.

It would've helped if he knew where exactly he was going, but he had a rough idea and that would have to do.

_'The lack of windows would suggest that this base is underground somewhere.' _He thought, remembering his multiple missions into Otogakure, the sprawling underground complexes of a madman. Only this place was more...advanced than anything he had seen before. The quality of the metal in the walls alone was leagues above perhaps even that of the Land of Iron.

Something else was worrying him as well; back in the medical area his _**Daitoppa**_ used more chakra than it should have to obtain that result. His long sleep must have atrophied his chakra coils, and screwed up his control. He grimaced; this meant he was going to be forced to restrict his jutsu use, lest he unintentionally injure himself.

He turned right at a connecting hallway and paused, his preconceived belief of him being underground evaporating as he stared at a darkened window at the end of the hall seeing the night sky on the other side.

At that moment he started running even faster than before, wanting nothing more than to shatter that window and obtain his freedom, but when he looked closer he noticed something...off about what was on the other side.

When he got within ten feet his eyes widened and he slowed to a disbelieving walk.

When he finally reached the window his jaw gaped behind his mask...

There was nothing out there.

There were no trees, no grass, no ground, and no outside. He was no longer on his world.

As his mind was still trying to come to terms with the impossibility of it all, he noticed it.

There was a gray planet off in the distance orbited by a single moon. On the planet's surface, clearly visible from his position, was a large continent that was clearly visible from where he stood. The planets gray color made it obvious, even from where he stood, that there was no life to be found there, not anymore.

He felt his legs began to shake and his breaths become shallower. He put a hand on the window to steady himself. His other hand went inside his cloak and brought out a folded piece of paper.

Unfolding the paper revealed it to be a map. He placed the map on the window to compare it to the continent on the planet in the distance. He felt tears beginning to form in his eyes as he saw that the continent, and the map, a complete map of the Elemental Nations, were an almost exact match.

His world was dead...

His legs very nearly gave out on him at that moment, but he managed to hold himself up despite the despair that was coursing through him. But in that despair a new thought was slowly making itself known.

These people weren't ninja, if their level of technology, especially the fact that they were no longer on his world, was any indication. These people, particularly the avian and amphibian were not of his world. That would explain the distinct lack of chakra, and furthermore, if they were more reliant on technology than anything, he had no idea what they could do, but conversely, they had no idea what he could do.

He noticed a hallway to his left, and began running once again. He couldn't escape this place; that much was clear right now. It was time for Plan B: If these people wanted him for whatever reason, he sure as hell wasn't going to make it easy on them.

_XXXXXXXX_

_-10 minutes later-_

Shepard stepped through the door onto a catwalk on the cargo bay's upper level. Across the room he saw Garrus doing the same. On the ground floor, he saw Jack, Miranda, and Jacob entering on the ground level, in accordance with his plan.

He and Garrus would take to the upper level of the cargo bay to flush the human out. Once that was accomplished the two of them would, if necessary, force him down to the lower level where he would be met with a biotic 'net', the purpose of which was to render the human unable to move long enough for a tranquilizer to be administered.

He knew the human was in here somewhere, EDI tracked him to this very room, unfortunately the constant rotation of equipment on and off the planet resulted in the entire bay teeming with the same energy signature the human put off, which had the unfortunate side effect of scrambling most of the sensors. They were effectively going in blind.

He heard the door slide shut and lock behind him. There was no place for the human to go now.

Shepard spoke into his COMM. "Everyone, check in."

_XXXXXXXX_

"Everything's clear on my end so far, Shepard." Garrus said as he entered a small storeroom off to his side, pistol at the ready.

_XXXXXXXX_

"No contacts so far. What about you Shepard?" Asked Miranda, as she, Jacob, and Jack prowled the lower level.

_XXXXXXXX_

Shepard stepped into a storeroom of his own; it was mostly empty save for a few boxes. There was nowhere for anyone to hide. "Nothing yet. Stay alert." He ordered as he turned and let himself out.

_XXXXXXXX_

Garrus didn't like this. It felt like he was just walking around waiting to be attacked. Oh, it was a good plan that much he would admit. But he hated the feeling of being glorified bait.

He grimaced when the lights flashed on in the good sized storeroom. There were stacks of crates _everywhere_! It was the perfect place to set up an ambush.

...Or at least, it would have been had his current target not been standing at the opposite end of the room in plain view.

Although the mask obstructed its eyes Garrus knew it was looking right at him. His own eyes narrowed at the human's brazenness. Just standing there, it must have been incredibly confident it could have taken anyone who walked through the door.

Garrus kept his pistol trained on the human. He wouldn't let it get the drop on him like it did back in the med-bay. He took one hand off the pistol and activated his comm. "I've found him Shepard."

"What's the situation?" Shepard asked back.

"He's just standing here, staring at me. Not trying to hide, or fight, or anything at all really." Garrus answered; his eyes and pistol never leaving his target.

"Is that so? Well then, see if you can't coax him into coming outside. Use force only as a last resort." Shepard ordered.

"Roger that." Garrus replied as he holstered his pistol. He then began to slowly approach the black clad figure a hand extended and beckon toward himself. "All right now buddy, just come with me, no one needs to get hurt." He knew that, in all likelihood, this person couldn't understand him but he was hoping his slow, deliberate movements would convey the message that he didn't want to fight.

That was, of course, until he heard faint footfalls coming from behind him. He quickly jumped to side while rotating his back towards the wall. He was forced to make an additional step back to avoid being cut by the knife swung in his direction.

It was only after successfully dodging the knife did he see who wielded it.

Standing in front of him was a perfect copy of the human, a knife in hand. Before he could fully process what he was seeing the copy lunged forward with its knife again. This time though, Garrus was ready, he quickly ducked to his left, the knife missing his head by inches, and grabbed hold of the human's arm with his left hand and twisted it behind him.

From there he attempted to pin the human using one of the stacks of crates but before he could the human introduced his free arm, elbow first, to the Turian's stomach, the force from which making him relinquish his hold on the human's arm. The human quickly backpedaling away towards the opening in between the two stacks of crates.

He looked to his left, the human he saw upon entering the room was still just standing there, now facing him completely. Garrus's eyes narrowed as he accessed his COM, "Looks like I'll be fighting after all Shepard. I'll try to leave him in one piece." He said with a chuckle. It was clear it wanted to fight hand-to-hand with him. That was a mistake, as his now opponents were about to learn.

Under normal circumstances he would question how it was possible for a man to create clones of himself, but at that moment the one to his right made a cross with its index and middle fingers, accompanied by a series of incomprehensible words, and three more duplicates appeared out of thin air and all five assumed a fighting stance.

"You want to fight? All right then. That's just fine by me." He said, mostly to himself, before undoing the locks and removing his gloves and revealing his hands, three long fingers tipped with razor sharp talons. While assuming a fighting stance of his own, he idly remembered his numerous sparring matches against his fellow soldiers while serving in the Turian fleet.

And all at once, they charged.

_XXXXXXXX_

Shepard was running across the catwalk as fast as he could. The second Garrus radioed the second time he knew this wasn't going to end well.

He was proven right when, about halfway to the storeroom, the door slid open and Garrus stumbled out, followed closely by, and he nearly stumbled at this point, the human and three exact duplicates of said human, all of whom were currently engaging Garrus in hand-to-hand combat.

Miranda, Jacob, and Jack, alerted by the sounds of a fight overhead rushed to take their positions underneath the walkway Garrus was standing on.

Garrus was, amazingly, proving to be a match despite the odds. Due in no small part to having discarded his gloves and using his talons to their fullest, blocking and countering most of the punches and kicks sent his way.

As Shepard drew closer he saw Garrus land a solid hit on one of them, his talons raking across the right arm after it overextended its stab, and was surprised when it immediately burst into a cloud of smoke and disappeared. Emboldened by the improved odds, Garrus began pressing the offensive driving the humans back. The three look-alikes, by this point having grown aware of how dangerous this being was up close, were forced to draw more of those strange knives from their sleeves to counter Garrus' talons.

It was a stalemate at this point. Garrus had to be careful with his strikes, lest he lose a finger, and the human and his duplicates couldn't get in too close or they would lose another of their number.

The odds improved for Garrus yet again when the opponent to his right made to attack while he was blocking a kick coming from his left. Before the knife could even scratch his armor, Shepard came up from behind and delivered a swift punch to the back of his head, resulting in the appearance of another smoke cloud.

The two remaining humans, momentarily surprised at the addition of a new adversary, quickly recovered and tried to backpedal down the walkway, only for Garrus to maneuver himself right in their way. The humans were now trapped between them.

"So he can make duplicates of himself?" Shepard questioned in disbelief as he took up a fighting stance across from Garrus.

Garrus smirked and nodded. "Seems that way. The only real difference between them is that the duplicates can only take one good punch before 'poof'." He chuckled at the last bit.

"It looked like they were giving you a pretty hard time despite that." Shepard quipped at his friend.

"A hard time? Me? Please, Shepard, I might as well hang up my armor now if I can't take on one guy and his clones" Garrus shot back, fully aware of how ridiculous his statement was.

"Right." Shepard acknowledged. "Any idea which one is the real one?"

Garrus shook his head. "They moved too fast back in the storeroom. It was all I could do to not get stabbed. But this shouldn't be too hard though. All we need is one good hit."

Shepard nodded and both men charged. The doppelgangers met the human and Turian in the middle. At once both sides threw a punch.

Shepard's opponent, knife in hand, nearly cut his face had not a last moment deflection with his forearm pushed the blade off course. He retaliated with a solid hit to the sternum and a moment later was rewarded by a puff of smoke. A copy.

Garrus allowed the knife to impact his armor, embedding it in the joint between his arm and chest, and attacked with a knee. His assailant jumped backwards, landed on hands and jumped again.

Shepard assumed a position by Garrus but the Turian waved him off.

"Just him and me, Isaac. One on one". He said.

Standing back, Shepard nodded without reply. Garrus rarely used his first name. The Turian was serious. Walking backwards, he watched the two, merely staring each other down. And then a surprise: the assailant clapped his hands together and bowed slightly to his opponent before resuming a ready stance, pulling yet another knife from his sleeve.

Garrus's eyes widened slightly before he returned the gesture with a slight bow of his own, making sure his eyes stayed on his opponent the whole time, before pulling the stuck blade from his armor and gripping it in his left hand, right hand open for attack.

At once, both opponents charged, blades clashed.

_XXXXXXXX_

Shepard watched from the opposite catwalk. The display of martial skills was… remarkable. The assailant was fast, movements a blur and hard to track at times. But Garrus, despite his size in the armor he wore, was somehow able to counter most of the attacks and even connected some of his own.

He also noticed that, slowly but surely, Garrus was driving the cloaked man closer to the railing.

He brought his hand to his communicator and radioed Miranda. "Are the three of you ready?"

_XXXXXXXX_

"Are the three of you ready?" Came the question over the radio in Miranda's ear.

They had been monitoring the situation closely since Garrus emerged from the storeroom. Needless to say, they were quite surprised when they saw four identical copies of the same person fighting him. Their amazement quickly wore off when the tide shifted in Garrus's favor with Shepard's intervention, and they quickly fell into formation.

Now Miranda, Jacob, and Jack were all standing in a triangle formation underneath the section of catwalk Garrus was fighting on. "We're ready Shepard. Send him down" She replied as the three of them held their hands out and summoned their biotic power, creating a large purple bubble between them. Between the three of them it was more than enough to keep the human suspended and motionless long enough for Miranda to administer the sedative.

_XXXXXXXX_

"We're ready Shepard. Send him down." Shepard turned his attention back to the fight to see that Garrus had managed to move the fight almost to the edge of the walkway.

"Garrus! Over the edge!" He shouted when the cloaked man was close enough.

Garrus narrowed his eyes, keeping his focus on not getting hit, waiting for the right moment to strike.

A punch flew towards his face. Deflected.

Despite his focus he couldn't help but notice that something was off about the way this human fought.

He swiped with his talons. The human dodged, jumping back a foot or so before attempting a sweeping kick, which was summarily jumped over.

The human's strikes were precise, calculated but Garrus noticed each subsequent attack get more sluggish, sloppier.

The human leapt back to his feet, almost stumbling as he did so.

Garrus may have been cocky but he was no fool. He saw the display of sheer speed and coordination the human put on in the med-bay and he knew that if the human were to fight like that now it wouldn't be nearly as easy to push him back.

Garrus slashed at the human again, this time grazing him across the torso. His talons cut through the cloak with relative ease but were stopped by something worn underneath. He was wearing some sort of armor, smart.

Garrus knew what was going on. He had seen it many times in hand-to-hand combat spars. His opponent was exhausted. He must've been running on nothing but adrenaline since being freed from the crystal.

The human threw another punch, and the instant he did Garrus knew this fight was his. The human overextended once more and Garrus promptly grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip. Using the human's momentum he quickly spun both of them around and flipped the human over the railing where he fell headfirst into the biotic bubble below.

_XXXXXXXX_

Surprise was his general reaction as the avian flipped him over the railing after an incredibly sloppy punch. As soon as he saw the man and two women that accompanied the avian in the medical area and the bluish-purple sphere formed between them he realized what his opponents plan was the entire time.

As he broke the surface of the bubble he was surprised to see his descent suddenly halted about three feet from the floor. He immediately tried to move but found that whatever this energy was was not only halting his fall but keeping him completely immobile.

Before he had a chance to wonder about how this was possible he felt his body beginning to rotate, turning him upright facing the dark haired woman. In her hand was a syringe unlike any he had ever seen before. Upon seeing it he began to struggle once more, trying to get out of whatever the sphere was made of.

He heard the woman speak and turned his focus to her. What he saw made his blood boil. On her face was perhaps one of the smuggest smirks he had ever seen. She began to move forward, intent on putting whatever was inside the syringe to work. He grit his teeth in anger at not being beaten by a real fighter like the avian, but by someone who looked so…_arrogant!_

He thought fast, he couldn't let it end like this. As he thought his situation over only one course of action kept presenting itself, but in his current condition it could do more harm to him than good. As the syringe came up to his neck he knew he was out of options. He closed his eyes and reached deep down to the core of his power…

_XXXXXXXX_

Miranda couldn't help smirking as the human tried to break out of the bubble. Shepard's plan had gone off without a hitch. As the three of them rotated the human so that he was facing her she couldn't help but gloat a little.

"You've caused quite a bit of trouble haven't you?" She questioned pedantically. She froze for a moment when he turned his attention to her, and for a moment she could almost feel the anger directed at her, in addition to the grunts of exertion, coming from behind the ceramic mask.

She quickly shook off the sensation and moved forward and prepared to inject the tranquilizer. Her curiosity was piqued when, as she drew closer, his grunts turned to an almost low growl. Not wanting to see what he'd try to do next she brought the syringe to his neck…

…But she was already too late.

"**RRRRAAAAGGGHHHH!"** Came the inhuman roar before a wave of yellow energy exploded from his form. It slammed into the three biotics, knocking them off their feet, dissipating the biotic bubble in the process.

Miranda hit the floor several feet away and before she knew what was happening the human was in front of her stomping down on the hand holding the syringe, shattering it and possibly a few bones in the process. As she tried to block out the pain a she saw him descending with a powerful downward punch and then all faded to black.

_XXXXXXXX_

He felt satisfied as he watched the woman fade into unconsciousness. He absolutely _hated_ the kind of arrogance she wore in her expression; he had seen it far too many times before on the faces of several megalomaniacs before his crystal nap.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by a loud yell, as a purplish-blue laced fist plowed right into his face, shattering his mask and sending him flying across the room and into a wall.

Jack was never what anyone would call a level-headed, or even stable, woman. Her upbringing in a Cerberus lab helped to shape her philosophy of making sure anyone that slighted her paid dearly for doing so.

Getting thrown to the floor in a display of sheer power, and subsequently watching someone _that wasn't her_ knocking the 'Cerberus Cheerleader' out cold was something that made her furious enough to charge the human head-on, heedless of the consequences, with a biotic punch strong enough to break any normal human's neck. Instead, it served to shatter that stupid mask and send him flying. She grinned in sadistic satisfaction seeing him hit the wall.

He hit the wall and fell to his knees on the floor, one hand on his head trying to clear the stars, and the other on the floor keeping him steady. His breathing was deep and labored. His mask hung in two pieces off his face, broken beyond repair.

The bald woman had a hell of punch. It looked like his earlier assessment was correct, the two women and the man were definitely the biggest threats.

He shakily stood up, one hand on the wall and the other on his face concealing it from his opponents. He moved his hand away and saw several bloodstains on his glove, most likely thanks to small fragments of his mask being turned into shrapnel. He offhandedly noticed a door not far from his position.

He turned to face Jack and Jacob, allowing them to see his face for the first time. Jacob's eyes widened slightly at the sight…

He was young, in his early twenties at most, with a lean face and what looked like spiky blonde hair. The eyes were a shocking, almost electric blue with an edge to them that suggested this young man was a trained soldier. Other than that there was only one other distinguishing feature he had. On his cheeks were a set of three parallel lines…almost like whiskers.

Something else they noticed was that he looked completely exhausted. Sweat and blood were visible all over his face and he was panting as though he had just run a marathon.

Allowing the two of them to finally get a good look at his face provided an unexpected distraction. He capitalized on it and quickly made a break for the door. He didn't notice the two of them adopt smirks as he reached the door only to find it wouldn't open automatically like the ones from before.

It was only when the holographic symbol he had seen on the previous doors popped up but in the color red as opposed to green did he fully understand. They came in and locked the doors behind them.

He turned to face the two once more noticing that they both had their arms encased in the same glow as the punch from earlier. He was backed into a corner by people with powers he didn't fully understand and he was drop dead tired.

But he wouldn't let that stop him.

He adjusted his footing and prepared to charge two biotics; but before he could he heard the door open behind him followed swiftly by the pinching sensation of a syringe entering his neck.

His eyes widened as his vision almost immediately began to blur. He turned to see the amphibian creature standing in the doorway, another of the weird syringes empty in its hand.

He tried to run, to push the creature aside and escape but his body felt heavy, he fell to his knees as his vision faded and soon he too fell to the floor unconscious.

Mordin frowned as he walked over to the unconscious man.

"Where'd you come from professor?" Jacob inquired as he made his way over, followed by Jack.

"Patients in med-bay stable. Decided to come and help. Brought extra tranquilizer. Just in case. Never thought one man could cause so much trouble." He said, gesturing at the also unconscious Miranda who was being loaded on Shepard's shoulders, he and Garrus having made their way down to the ground floor in the middle of the commotion.

"I don't think any of us imagined half the things we just saw professor." Jacob admitted, to which Mordin could only nod as Shepard and Garrus made their way over.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you Professor Solus-" Garrus began as he hefted the unconscious man over his shoulder. "-But how did you know which door to come through? EDI said most of the sensors were useless in here."

"Simple matter. Energy surge detected nearest to this door. Timing just lucky." Mordin said with a smile.

"Glad you made it when you did Mordin, otherwise things could have gotten rough." Shepard said. "Let's get these two to the Normandy's med-bay. Hopefully some medical diagnostics will be able to shed some light on how he was able to do what he did."

With that they departed the cargo bay.

**-Normandy Med-Bay: 30 minutes later—**

It took longer than Shepard would have liked to get everything under control since the altercation in the Alexandria's cargo bay.

The young man was currently bound to one of the beds dressed in a standard patient gown, fully revealing his spiky, shoulder-length, almost gravity defying hair. He was relatively tall, roughly six feet, and built with an almost wiry muscle, next to no fat could be found on his frame.

The removal of his cloak had revealed that apparently black was a theme of his. He was currently wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and matching black pants, wrapped around his shins was what looked like black tape keeping the fabric of his pant-legs from flapping as he moved. On his feet had been a pair of black sandals that looked to be made with flexibility and durability in mind. On his forearms there were metal arm-guards that were worn on top of gloves that extended from his hands to his elbows leaving his upper arms exposed. One of the only pieces of clothing that was not black was the grayish armored vest that he was wearing over his shirt. On his upper-right thigh he saw a pouch that contained several of the knives used in the fight, as well as various other tools and weapons. On his left shoulder was a tattoo depicting a spiral line pattern.

His cloak and the armor underneath were placed in the science lab for Mordin to examine later. The cloak was especially interesting since, upon its removal, it was discovered that it had no noticeable areas for the knives used in the fights to have been holstered. It was almost as if he had pulled the knives from thin air.

Shepard gathered his team around the bed he was laying in while Mordin and Dr. Chakwas ran scans using the med-bay's scanners.

He looked over his team:

Jacob, Jack, and he had come through with almost no injuries at all save a small scuff or two on their uniforms from hitting the ground or, in Shepard's case, a scratch or two from the knives

Garrus's armor had a few nicks and scratches, along with one hole in the joint on his right shoulder, all of which were quickly patched up with some Omni-gel.

Miranda, who woke up not long after being moved to the med-bay herself, was the worst off out of all of them: A fractured cheekbone, a broken finger, and a minor concussion. Something Jack found endless humor in.

"Damn Princess; he sure got you good!" She said with a smug smirk. Miranda could only glare at her, the Medi-gel patch on her cheek rendering the left side of her mouth completely numb.

Shepard rolled his eyes. "Jack…" He said almost threateningly.

"What?" Jack asked, still smiling as though she was the only one to get the joke. "It's hilarious. All that genetic engineering and the 'Perfect Woman' got her ass handed to her. By a kid no less!"

***Slam***

Everyone jumped as the normally stoic Miranda slammed her hands down on the bed she was laying on before she got up and stormed out of the room looking positively livid. An awkward silence descending in her wake.

Garrus spoke first. "I think you hit a sore spot with that one Jack."

"Really? Good to know." Jack said, filing Miranda's reaction away for later.

Before she could continue Shepard broke in. "That's enough Jack! If you're going to be on this team you won't go around needlessly antagonizing them. Is that clear?!" He all but shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She waved him off as she too left the med-bay for her room underneath the Normandy's eezo core.

Shepard narrowed his eyes, but knew she would back off, for the moment. If she got herself kicked off the team then all of the Cerberus files Shepard promised her would be out of her reach for good. He didn't enjoy the thought of having to keep someone loyal through bribery, but it worked, and Jack was an extremely powerful asset, so he couldn't complain.

"Hmmm, fascinating." Came Mordin's voice.

He, Garrus, and Jacob turned their attention to the human on the bed, and the Salarian along with Dr. Chakwas going over the preliminary results from one of his many tests on the terminal built into the bedside.

"What did you find Mordin?" asked Shepard.

He noticed Dr. Chakwas' eyes widen as she looked at the results. "Is this accurate?" She asked Mordin.

Mordin nodded while humming an affirmative, motioning for the Commander and the rest to come and look.

The display on the side of the bed showed a real time X-Ray of the young man's body. Right down the blood vessels.

"Believe we have discovered the source of his-" he gestured at the unconscious blonde. "-unique power."

"Just so we're completely sure." Jacob said. "He isn't a biotic?"

Mordin frowned and shook his head. "No, not biotic. No traces of Element Zero anywhere in nervous system."

"Then how was he able to cause the gale force wind in the Alexandria's med-bay? Or the clones in the cargo area?" Garrus questioned.

Mordin inhaled. "Simple question. Complex Answer. Preliminary test results point to significant differences from normal humans. Not just in skeletal system. Nervous system, Circulatory system. All different, all improved. Several other areas likely to show divergence as well. Will need to continue tests to be certain."

Shepard looked at Mordin quizzically. "Improved?"

Mordin nodded. "Nervous system displays more activity than is human average. Allow for more efficiency and sensitivity toward outside stimuli." He inhaled once more. "Real surprise in Circulatory system however."

"How so?" Shepard pressed.

"He has two." Mordin stated simply.

"Two?" Jacob said in disbelief.

"Two." He repeated. "Two sets of blood vessels. But second set doesn't transport blood."

"So this guy-" Garrus pointed at the bed's occupant. "Has two sets of blood vessels but one isn't even used. Seems counterintuitive."

Mordin shook his head. "No. Not vestigial." He paused to inhale. "Second vessels transport energy." He finished.

"What kind of energy?" Shepard asked.

Mordin brought a finger to his chin. "Uncertain. Vessels intertwined closely with all organs, bones, muscle groups. Far more expansive then traditional blood vessels. Energy could be used to enhance biological functions. Could have other uses…" He trailed off.

Garrus thought about it for a moment. "Could this 'energy' be what caused the wind? Or the clones?"

Mordin thought for a moment before nodding. "Highly probable. Findings still preliminary however. Need to run more tests to be sure."

"Will these tests interfere with your research into the Collector's technology?" Shepard questioned Mordin.

Mordin merely smiled. "Please Shepard. Collector technology always top of priorities. But always time for other minor pursuits. Otherwise will make time."

Shepard nodded his head before addressing both Dr. Chakwas and Mordin. "Alright. Run whatever tests you deem necessary. But try to keep him unconscious until we reach Omega. I don't want him waking up and wreaking havoc on my ship."

They both nodded and Shepard, Garrus and Jacob exited the med-bay.

Jacob saluted before heading for the elevator. Stating that there was a list of various upgrades he needed to compile before they hit Omega. Shepard joined him in the elevator; he needed to speak with the Illusive Man about the mission report anyways.

Garrus just stood there in hallway for a moment before heading to the forward battery; he had a report to compile as well. His preliminary examination of the Normandy's main guns revealed several glaring flaws. As they were now, the Nomandy's weapons wouldn't stand a chance against a Collector Ship. They needed something with more bite and Garrus had a few contacts that could help get him just that.

He stopped one of the med-bay's windows and looked at the human unconscious on the bed for a moment. He thought back to the fight in the cargo bay, about how hard this man had fought even when it was clear that there was no chance of him winning. A respect had been forged in that battle. Garrus respected that this man would fight impossible odds, it reminded Garrus so much of himself two years ago. Of how Shepard and the crew of the previous Normandy fought Saren and his Geth army almost single handed.

He absently clicked his mandibles. Could he really just stand by and let someone with a spirit like that be handed over to Cerberus?

…That was a stupid question if he ever heard one.

He turned a headed for the elevator. The report could wait.

_XXXXXXXX_

"_This man managed to render Miranda unconscious?"_ The Illusive Man's voice was almost disbelieving upon the end of Shepard's report. After all, it wasn't every day that a new sub-species of _Homo sapiens_ was discovered that had this kind of power. Talk about a diamond in the rough, or perhaps double-bladed sword would be more appropriate.

"We've never seen anything like it." Shepard stated. "He let out some kind of shockwave of yellow energy and before anyone could do anything he had knocked Miranda out cold."

"_Impressive. There aren't many that can get the better of her. Even with the element of surprise."_ He said approvingly. On the outside he was still calm and cool-headed, but on the inside his thoughts were racing, and the number of problems they presented was rising.

The Illusive Man took a drag on his cigarette as he processed what he had learned from Shepard's report. Given what the human was seemingly capable of he couldn't honestly say for sure if any Cerberus facility could hold him. One mistake was all it would take and Cerberus had no personnel trained to deal with the kinds of abilities that had been described if he got loose.

He could always hire trained soldiers to act as security but mercenaries were costly, especially if their silence had to be bought and even then they were a huge security risk. He was already taking a large risk with a team of all human Eclipse mercs to serve as the Alexandria's protection detail.

On top of all that this was essentially a first contact scenario with an unknown and completely unexpected variable. If there was one thing that frustrated the Illusive Man it was not knowing something. And in this case he didn't know a lot of somethings, which left him unnerved.

The more he thought the situation over the more just leaving the human with Shepard made the most sense, even considering Shepard's lack of trust in Cerberus. Especially as the team roster grew, and more of the Galaxy's best were brought on board the Normandy. They already had experience in dealing with the human and his powers, and EDI would be invaluable in establishing some form of communication between the human and his distant relatives.

The Illusive Man tapped his cigarette over the ashtray before addressing Shepard once more. _"Thank you for your report Shepard. It's apparent that there is more to take into account than first thought. Send for Miranda when you leave, there is something I have to speak with her about."_

Shepard narrowed his eyes, but nodded and walked out of the hologram just the same.

To his surprise he ran into Garrus outside the door. "Shepard, I need to talk with you." He said, falling into step beside him.

"Just one second Garrus." Shepard said as he walked up to one of EDI's communication hubs.

"What can I do for you Commander?" Asked the blue spherical avatar.

"I need you to inform Miranda that the Illusive Man would like to speak with her immediately, and to tell Joker to disengage us from the Alexandria and set a course for Omega." Shepard ordered.

"Right away Shepard." EDI replied as her avatar faded.

Shepard turned to Garrus who motioned to follow him to the Science Lab. _'The one spot on the ship with no Cerberus bugs. This must be important.'_ Shepard thought as the door slid shut behind them.

_XXXXXXXX_

**-CSV Alexandria—**

Only a fraction of the crew was there to see the Normandy disengage and fly off, mostly to avoid upsetting Professor Crull.

Those that did watch however were there mostly to say their farewells to what could have been their greatest discovery ever. Despite the…complications that came with it they were all still ecstatic over finding an actual example of the distant world's human population.

As the Normandy disappeared from visual range the members of the crew began to return to their duties.

One woman in particular was making her way down a hall before slipping quietly inside one of the rooms.

The room in question was for bunks, it was empty at the moment, a perk of having such a large ship with a comparatively small crew, there was a lot of space used for nothing more than storage.

As the door slid shut behind her she quickly made her way toward an extranet terminal set up on one of the tables inside. She an OSD into the console and pressed a few buttons, launching the program contained within. It would ensure no one noticed what she was doing.

She sat down and opened up a live feed.

A black silhouette appeared on the screen. "Agent Osiris." A distorted female voice greeted her. "Is this feed secure?"

"Yes." The woman replied.

"Good. And your report?" The silhouette cut straight to business.

The woman slipped a second OSD out of her pocket and plugged it into the terminal. A few taps later and the files were delivered to whoever was on the other side of the feed. "All of Cerberus's findings are there. As well as an incident report regarding what was found earlier today. Cerberus is onto something here. They found a live example of this planets human population." The woman explained.

The silhouette was silent for a moment. "Very good Agent Osiris. Your payment has been deposited in a dummy account. Continue to maintain your cover as a Cerberus operative. And keep us informed of any other major discoveries. You're a credit to the organization."

"Thank you ma'am" The woman said as the feed cut out. She pressed a few more buttons, wiping all the data on the second OSD, while ejecting the first and pocketing it.

As she got up to exit she couldn't help but smirk at the Illusive Man's naiveté. How he honestly thought an operation as big as this would escape the attention of the Shadow Broker was beyond her.

_XXXXXXXX_

**-Location Unknown: Same Time—**

Ten figures sat at a conference table in a darkened room. In the middle of the table was a hologram showing the Normandy SR-2 as it was leaving Omega just a few days before.

"Do you think we can trust Shepard? It's been two years after all." One of the figures, a deep voiced male spoke.

"Do we really have a choice? He knows more about what's coming than any of us." A second voice, female, answered.

"It's been almost two weeks since the first sightings of the _late_ Commander were brought to our attention. In that time it's been confirmed that he's working with Cerberus. Cerberus of all people! Can we really trust someone who went from fighting terrorists to working with them?" The male voice replied.

"It's less of a question of 'Can we trust him?' and more of a question of 'Can we afford not to?'." A third voice, also male, cut in. "He claimed to have spoken with Sovereign, and he and his former team were the only ones to interact with the VI on Ilos. He has more information on the Reapers than anyone else alive, save perhaps Cerberus or the Shadow Broker." The voice paused for a moment. "If he's seen the Extranet News then he knows the Council has backslid on, and dismissed just about everything he told them. That would be enough to shake anyone's faith, especially after he saved their lives during the Battle of the Citadel. Taken in that context it's not a surprise to see him working with Cerberus, especially if they somehow rebuilt the Normandy."

"The Council has always been incredibly stubborn and slow to act." A fourth voice, female, chimed in with disdain.

"That's beside the point of this meeting. Do we bring him in or not?" The first voice was getting impatient.

There was an uncomfortable silence before one final voice, laced with authority, spoke up. "Send word to councilor Anderson. He's the one person the Commander trusts above all else. When Anderson hears that Shepard is alive he'll waste no time in contacting him, if and when Shepard arrives to meet with him is when we make our move. Is that clear?"

"Very well." The third voice responded as the sounds of typing in a holographic interface reached their ears.

"We're taking a very big risk with him you know. If he turns out to be a Cerberus spy-" The first voice spoke again.

"We've all read his file, he is, or at least was, an Alliance soldier." The leader cut him off. "He saved the entire colony on Feros, saved the Council; he even spared the Rachni queen on Noveria. These actions point to a man who wouldn't work with Cerberus unless absolutely necessary, and perhaps not even then. He's at least earned the benefit of the doubt."

The first voice remained silent. The leader spoke once more. "Your concern is noted. Rest assured all security measures have been taken in the event Commander Shepard is now an enemy. Does anyone have anything else to add…"

The leader continued when silence was the answer. "Good now that that matter is taken care of; has there been any new information uncovered regarding the Reapers?"

_XXXXXXXXX_

**-Uncharted World—**

Unbeknownst to Shepard and his crew, the moment that the human unleashed it's power in the cargo bay of the Alexandria the energy continued to expand outward, carrying through the Alexandria's hull to the space all around and more importantly, the planet below.

Far below the CSV Alexandria, far beneath the crust of the dead world. A pair of golden eyes opened for the first time in almost a millennia.

_XX Chapter End XX_

_AN: This chapter, excluding the beginning and ending AN, is almost a full 10,000 words! That is the longest chapter I've ever typed and I hope it goes at least a little ways towards earning your forgiveness for making you all wait this long. I shall endeavor to get the next chapter out before 2014 comes around!_

_And so the mystery man is revealed. Show of hands: how many of you all already knew that was coming?_

_And we also have a few bits of intrigue at the end here. I think you're all going to like how these will play out. ;)_

_On another note: This chapter was actually completed back in March. Why is it only now being updated? Because around the time it was completed, one of my beta readers, unfortunately, had to take a leave of absence for personal reasons. As it so happens, he was the one who helped keep me on track as far as characterization, conversation flow, and other fairly major aspects go. As a result, only the first half of this chapter has received any significant 'fine tuning' so to speak. The second half had to be done pretty much on my own. So if the second half of the chapter seems lacking, that's the reason._

_On a related note: Since my beta reader is taking a leave of absence for now, I desperately need to find someone to fill in for him until he gets back. If there's anyone out there that wants to give me a hand in making this story the best it can be, shoot me a PM and we'll talk turkey._

_I think that's about it. Read, enjoy, and be sure to review! Thank you all for your continued support. And a very special thanks to my betas: Snipa, KokiriLink, and Tutor Veritatis._


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